WASHINGTON (10/17/05) -- In what credit union lobbyists see as an ominous sign, the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee is expected to hold hearings as early as next week focusing on the credit union tax exemption. Committee staffers have already discussed the topic and invited the Internal Revenue Service to appear at the hearing, which is being billed as exploratory, at this time. But sources say the committee, headed by sometime credit union critic Bill Thomas, R-Calif., may be looking at the credit union exemption as a possible source of federal revenues as the federal budget deficit is expected to explode from its already record levels, as expenses from Hurricane Katrina relief and the continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, add to the government's red ink. Officials at the committee did not return calls from The Credit Union Journal last week.
