More letters are needed in opposition to the onerous Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting-requirement proposal circulating in Washington, D.C. Please direct credit union supporters to the Connect For The Cause webpage, asking them to send Congress a message!

Between the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues’ Connect For The Cause platform and the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) grassroots action center, more than 26,000 letters from California and Nevada credit union supporters have been sent to Congress out of the 155,000 nationwide regarding this proposal. The proposal is included in the $3.5 trillion spending package currently under consideration by Congress (see materials below for reaching out to YOUR credit union members).

The House Ways and Means Committee concluded its markup of the budget reconciliation bill this week, advancing the legislation to the House Rules Committee without language calling for increased reporting requirements. While that’s a positive sign and testimony to credit unions’ grassroots efforts, credit union leaders need to remain on guard as the bill will eventually reach the House floor, according to Leagues Vice President of Federal Government Affairs Jeremy Empol.

“We cannot take our foot off the gas pedal,” Empol said. “To ensure this provision is firmly defeated, we need additional activity NOW. We are asking EVERYONE to email their representatives on Capitol Hill and tell them to oppose this harmful provision. We aren’t out of the woods just yet as new expenditures continue being added to the bill, which requires more revenue to offset them.”

The Senate could either pass its own budget reconciliation bill or wait to take up the House-passed bill. Both the House and Senate committees will begin editing and amending their proposals, with votes taken and provisions added and removed.

The proposed IRS requirement would amount to a major compliance burden on credit unions, as well as an invasion of their members’ privacy. The intention behind the proposed requirements is to go after tax cheaters, but it would unfortunately give the IRS new access to private information. Financial service providers would have to report gross cash flows greater than $600 on all their accountholders. This almost assures that every financial institution, fintech, and depository will report information on every single accountholder.

How Can Your CU Activate Members?
It’s simple — just download, customize, and distribute the following CUNA-provided social media materials: Facebook post, Instagram post, and Twitter post. Please use these to redirect members to our Connect For The Cause webpage on this particular issue.

Additionally, you can alter and edit the following email as you see fit to educate and activate your members and/or employees:

From: (insert your credit union, CEO, or credit union member’s name)
(Right here, insert your credit union logo or header here — with graphics between 600 – 700 pixels wide, usually 100 – 200 pixels high)
Subject Option 1: Contact Your Lawmaker Today!
Subject Option 2: New IRS Proposal Could Affect Your Account 

Dear Member,

As Congress considers new infrastructure spending, lawmakers are considering unconventional sources of revenue to fund their plans. One proposal under consideration would require financial institutions like [credit union name] to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) many activities on accounts with balances over $600. Such an unprecedented grab of your personal financial data raises several concerns. 

(“TAKE ACTION NOW” button goes here)

• This proposal would violate the personal privacy of consumers like you by forcing credit unions and other financial institutions to provide the government with information that does not reflect taxable activity.
• Financial institutions—particularly those in rural and low-income communities—would face a new and expensive regulatory burden that could make it untenable to serve those consumers already left behind by Wall Street banks.
• The government relies on decades old data systems to store and secure IRS information. These systems have already been compromised in recent years, and the addition of this type of data only increases the likelihood of a future breach of your personal financial information.
  
  

What We Need From You:

At [credit union name], we value civic engagement and believe it’s our duty to inform you when legislation is being discussed that could directly affect you.  

Please consider lending your voice to this important effort — visit this Connect For The Cause webpage to learn more and send an e-mail to your U.S. Representative.

Tell Congress to reject this new IRS reporting provision. 

Thank you for your time. 

Sincerely,

(Insert your credit union and/or CEO’s name here)

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