Pub. 9 2019-2020 Issue 5

2 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S www.coloradobankers.org BY DON CHILDEARS, CEO, COLORADO BANKERS ASSOCIATION Good Public Policy Pays Dividends in Colorado State Regulator Denies Credit Union Attempt to Purchase Bank A WORD FROM CBA E very year, the state of Colorado misses out on more than $65 million in revenue it could collect if credit unions paid income taxes like everyone else. Even the multibillion-dollar credit unions pay $0. Meanwhile, the average Coloradan pays $5,800 in income taxes annually. You read that right. The teen who scoops ice cream after school, the single mother working two jobs, and the senior citizen who lives on a fixed income all pay more income tax than a $2 billion credit union. And the state, whose budget is already stretched thin, is struggling to meet the needs of an increasingly large Colorado population, as roads and bridges need repair and expansion and schools must grow to accommodate new generations. Every dollar is needed. Colorado isn’t unique in that circumstance. On a national level, a lack of income tax deprives the U.S. Treasury of roughly $2 billion every year. Recently, credit unions have been spending their extra cash flow on a shopping spree, snatching up community banks across the country – except for one failed attempt in Colorado.