NTU Calls Congress to Enact Reforms

In a July 16 letter to Chairman Crapo (R - ID), Ranking Member Brown (D - OH), Chairwoman Waters (D - CA), and Ranking Member McHenry (R - NC), the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation's oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, called on Congress to enact serious reforms before raising the member business loan (MBL) cap for credit unions to address the economic crisis stemming from COVID-19.

NTU wrote that "Congress has a responsibility to demand enhanced transparency from the credit union industry, examine potential abuses that run counter to an institution’s tax-exempt purpose, and strengthen membership rules."

Specifically, the NTU is urging the Congress enact the following reforms:

• to require federal credit unions to file Form 990s;
• to subject federal credit unions to Unrelated Business Income Tax;
• to ensure tax parity with other financial institutions; and
• to address field of membership concerns.

NTU believes that these reforms would strike "a reasonable balance between increasing credit union [business] lending capacity and accountability, transparency and fairness."

NTU stated that it would oppose any legislation to increase the MBL cap, if these reforms are not addressed.

Read the letter.