If the credit union system learns anything from the tremendous grassroots and social media outreach being driven by the Don't Tax My Credit Union campaign, it's this — credit union members care about their membership.
Very few industries or businesses can call on their customers and end users to advocate for them on Capitol Hill. Credit unions have that dedication from their members. That's unique and it's an opportunity we must continue to leverage to better position the credit union system for future growth.
Since the Don't Tax My Credit Union Campaign was launched back in May, we've seen more than one million views of Don't Tax My Credit Union.org and 850,000 contacts to members of Congress. Those numbers are driven by members and advocates who value membership so much that they are willing to get engaged politically. We are sending a loud message to the Hill that credit union members are willing to fight to protect their membership.
We have also learned that lawmakers are clearly active on social media and are not afraid to voice their support of credit unions. Just a few years ago, who would have thought that lawmakers would tweet their support of credit unions. We have seen that a number of times with this campaign.
While some have questioned the reality of tax reform passing this year, it's vital to -wremember that if eliminating the credit union tax exemption is included in any of the draft reform bills, we will be fighting it for years to come. Our best offense is to be relentless now to protect the exemption so we are not expending our resources on this issue for years to come and can focus on improving the operating environment for credit unions.
The taxation battle is an opportunity for credit unions to re-educate their members on why their membership is so valuable and engage nonmembers on what they are missing.
Paul Gentile
Executive Vice President
CUNA
Washington, D.C.
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