American Banker, May 12, 2025, Tax Bill Keeps Credit Union Tax Exemption, But Threat Remains
Community reinvestment advocates are a bit less certain. Advocates like Jesse Van Tol of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition says while he understands some of the critiques about the largest credit unions, fully eliminating the tax exemption could have negative effects on institutions — particularly small ones — who remain community-oriented.
“There are some really good credit unions that have stayed true to their roots, particularly low-income community development credit unions, but there are also now a great number of credit unions that are virtually indistinguishable from banks,” he said. “[However,] I would not support removing tax exemption overall for credit unions, because I do believe there are very good credit unions and I do believe in the original vision, mission and purpose of credit unions.”
Van Tol added that federal regulator the NCUA should be examining some of the largest credit unions with a more critical eye, including asking whether their actions are consistent with their nonprofit status and consistent with their charter, which among other things requires them to serve folks of modest means.
