Congress Looks AtNon-Profits

WASHINGTON - (04/19/05) -- Fresh off its biggest victory inalmost seven years, the credit union lobby will be working to makesure that Wednesday's hearing before the tax-writing House Ways andMeans Committee doesn't dissolve into an effort to tax creditunions. Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., originally slatedthe hearing--a week after final passage of the credit union-backedbankruptcy reform bill-- to review whether not-for-profit hospitalsand a host of other tax-exempt organizations, including creditunions, are abiding by the original justification for their taxexemptions. Testifying at the hearing, which could be the first ofseveral on the issue, will be several government academics,including the heads of the Government Accountability Office,Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, whowill discuss the impact on federal tax revenues of tax exemptionsfor more than 1.8 million organizations. CUNA lobbyist Gary Kohnsaid the credit union lobby is ever-vigilant, noting that thenotice of the hearing mentioned credit unions along with severalother exempt organizations.