Bankers and their powerful trade groups began advocating credit union taxation in the 1920s. For many years, those direct efforts took the form of legislative filings to either tax credit unions outright or indirectly seeking to redefine credit unions as banks, thereby making them subject to taxation. These efforts to recast credit unions as banks for tax purposes revolved around the size of the credit union or the products that it offered. Obviously none of these efforts proved successful.
In recent years, the banking trade groups have refrained from legislation that calls for the taxation of credit unions. However, echoes of the old arguments are heard. The Massachusetts Credit Union League remains prepared to use its extensive experience in fighting any credit union taxation initiatives should they resurface.
