Texas CUs Tread Carefully In TaxDebate

AUSTIN, Texas - (04/29/05) -- The state Senate is scheduled tobegin its debate on business tax reform Friday and preliminarydrafts continue to protect the credit union tax exemption. Butcredit union lobbyists were cautious about the ultimate directionof the debate, in which the Senate is expected to take a muchdifferent direction that the House. "We've had assurances from theLt. Governor that he wants to protect credit unions. The banks havemade their case and it's fallen on deaf ears," Buddy Gill, chieflobbyist for the Texas CU League, told The Credit Union Journal. Adraft being circulated in the Senate this week shows a single'Business Activity Tax,' as opposed to a proposal that passed theHouse last month which gives businesses the option of paying thecurrent Franchise Tax or a Payroll Tax. But the Senate proposalretains tax exemptions for a variety of entities, including smallbusinesses, mutual funds and not-for-profits, including creditunions.