Thank you for your interest in preserving consumers' right to choose member-owned, not-for-profit credit unions as their families' financial services provider.

Background:

1. The banking industry is supporting legislation to make credit unions pay corporate income taxes. Bankers are carrying out this initiative at both the state and federal levels.
2. Bankers refuse to recognize credit unions' structural and philosophical differences. Credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperatives, dedicated solely to the financial well-being of their member-owners. Credit union philosophy also demands a commitment to social responsibility within the communities that allow us to exist.
3. There are currently 228 credit unions headquartered in Virginia and 68 in the District of Columbia, representing some $45 billion in assets. These credit unions are owned by approximately 3 million Virginians and 500,000 District residents, who depend on credit unions for affordable, consumer-friendly financial services.
4. Owed to their structure as member-owned financial cooperatives, credit unions focus solely on serving the member-owner, rather than chasing profits like for-profit banks.
5. Congress and state legislatures have long recognized the consumer and economic benefits of encouraging a robust and competitive credit union movement. Congress reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining credit unions' tax-exempt status in 1998, noting credit unions' ability to reach families of modest means and their service as a consumer-friendly alternative to profit-driven institutions and payday lenders.

Resources:

• What is a credit union?
• Straight Talk publication - Breaks down bankers' various complaints against credit unions and offers the truth about what credit unions are really doing to serve their members and communities. (File size is 1.6MB) For best results, right-click the Straight Talk link and choose "Save Target As" to download the file to your desktop.
• Reasons why credit unions should not be subject to an income or franchise tax.
• The Credit Union Difference - Comparing credit unions and banks.
• Fighting the 50-year battle: Attacks through the years on credit unions and their member-owners.
• Directory of Virginia-based and D.C.-based credit unions.
• Studies on credit union taxation.