Chief Tax-Writer: No CU TaxPlans

WASHINGTON - (11/04/05) -- The head of the congressionaltax-writing committee insisted Thursday that hearings to review thecredit union tax exemption were exploratory in nature and he has noplans for legislation that would repeal the exemption. "We're justasking questions," Rep. Bill Thomas told The Credit Union Journal,during a break in Thursday's hearing. "This is just a series ofhearings to determine whether tax exempt organizations continue todeserve their tax exemption." The California Republican said he hasno plans for any legislation to repeal the credit union taxexemption, even for large diversified credit unions, as the bankersasked him to do. "No, I don't think you should remove thetax-exempt status," said Thomas at the conclusion of the hearing."But I won't put a period there." Still, Thursday's hearing comesat a perilous time for credit unions as Congress is digging underevery rock and tax exemption to try to cope with a massive federalbudget deficit.