WASHINGTON – California Congressman Bob Filner (D) defended the credit union tax exemption in a letter to the editor in The Hill newspaper. Filner also criticized House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), for his interest in looking into the credit union tax exemption to see if it should stand. Thomas isn't getting much support of late. The other six members of the House Ways and Means Committee came out in favor of the CU tax exemption recently. In his letter to the editor, Filner not only supports the tax exemption, but is critical of the banks' efforts to get CUs taxed. “A new tax on credit unions, which already pay payroll taxes, sales taxes and property taxes, would make a negligible contribution to the national treasury. The real winners would be the banks, which have claimed that credit unions' tax status gives them an unfair competitive advantage. “The truth is that banks are earning record-setting profits, and owned $8.95 trillion in assets as of September last year, while total credit union assets reached a relatively modest $622 billion. Unsatisfied, the banks' lobbyists are prodding their allies in Congress to bully the credit unions,” Filner wrote.