In conjunction with our Credit Union Task Force, the Massachusetts Bankers Association has launched a new credit union web site www.creditunionruse.com to draw attention to the credit union tax exemption, the expansion of large credit unions, and the cost of the tax subsidy to individual taxpayers and local communities.

As you know, the Internet has become a pervasive tool by which a growing number of Americans get their news. It is the place people visit when they want to quickly and efficiently learn more about any issue. Moreover, it’s used by everyone from journalists to lawmakers, influencers and decision makers, to gather information.

Over the last year, MBA has been monitoring the Google search engine to determine how frequently the bankers’ position on credit unions and taxes appears online. Unfortunately, our industry is grossly underrepresented when one searches Google (the premier search engine). Type in credit unions and taxes and you will see many opinions direct from credit unions, but very few from bankers. (This can fluctuate, but an analysis over time has determined that the credit unions consistently beat us to the punch when it comes to reaching and influencing people online about credit unions and taxes.)

This is just one of the reasons why the new site was developed. Our overall goal is to spread the word about the un-level playing field on which community banks operate when forced to compete against large, non-taxpaying, credit unions. Moreover, we hope to make individual taxpayers aware that they are subsidizing these over-the-top credit unions. The MBA has nothing against smaller credit unions that have maintained their original common bond, but rather we are focusing on large credit unions who have expanded beyond all reason and still insist that they don’t need to pay taxes.

To make the site more successful, we suggest that you link to it on your bank’s website. This is very important because the more that other web sites link to it, the higher it will be driven up on Google and other search engines when someone types in credit unions and taxes. (To make it easier for your Internet professionals to link to it, we have attached to this bulletin a banner or button to help facilitate the link.) Of course, the other factor that improves its prominence is how many visits and hits the site receives. Therefore, we would encourage you to tell your employees to visit the site. (It’s a subject they should all learn about if they haven’t done so already.)

www.creditunionruse.com was created with the intent to reach consumers and individual taxpayers. Not only does it present our position on the credit union tax-exemption issue, it also features large credit union case histories and audio excerpts from radio promotions demonstrating large credit unions’ disregard for the traditional "common bond." Finally, following a great American tradition protected by the First Amendment, you’ll see that the illustrations engage in a bit of satire. Rest assured however, the text and the subject should be taken very seriously.

If you have other ideas for materials to add to the site, or suggestions for links to it, please contact Bruce Spitzer here at MBA: bspitzer@massbankers.org or 617-523-7595 ext. 234. Thank you for your assistance on this important issue.

Sincerely,
Daniel J. Forte
President