NAFCU Argues Tax Issue with Florida Banker in Miami Herald

MIAMI – In response to a column published April 10 on Herald.com, The Miami Herald’s online version, NAFCU President and CEO Fred Becker wrote in his own letter to the editor that readers should not take seriously the bankers’ `shock’ that credit unions do not pay corporate income taxes, leaving consumers to bear the brunt. Becker’s counter-letter, published April 20 on Herald.com, said, “[Florida Bankers Association CEO Alex] Snchez might want to reread the Consumer Federation of America study that found that the benefits that credit unions deliver to the public far exceed the costs of their tax exemption. Most telling, the study said that the value of the tax breaks enjoyed by banks is far greater, in absolute and relative terms, than the value of the credit-union tax exemption.” Becker points out that many banks have converted to Subchapter S Corporation status to avoid paying taxes. He cited FDIC data that showed banks earned record profits last year of $120.6 billion. Snchez’s column, entitled Guess who’s not paying taxes?, read, “Let me be clear: There are different kinds of credit unions. There are credit unions that still operate in the way Congress intended – they serve a limited and specific group of people.Then there are huge credit unions that have hundreds of millions of dollars in assets – some are over a billion dollars strong. To belong to these credit unions, essentially all you need is a pulse. These multimillion- and billion-dollar credit unions do not a pay a dime in state or federal corporate income or other taxes.”