Donald Trump Wants to Tax Your Credit Union

Last month, Trump issued another executive order, this time coming after community banks and credit unions. These institutions do not pay federal taxes. Instead they redirect profits to provide affordable loans, higher savings returns, and fewer fees to clients. It’s money that, in his opinion, belongs to Trump, whose obvious cash grab will end up taxing the customers themselves. While efforts to destabilize the government intensify, consequences are being felt far from Washington D.C. The SF Fire Credit Union, founded in 1951 “by firefighters, for firefighters,” is now at risk.

Why is Trump going after credit unions?

Credit unions help their customers out from under big, oppressive, nickel-and-diming banks. I’ve personally seen mental breakdowns happen over leaf-eaten unemployment checks, victims of a voracious Bank of America. BoA and other monopolizers don’t simply take from their depositors. They use those funds to support ventures like the North Dakota Access Pipeline. Meanwhile, no credit unions are known to have been involved. Organizations like SF Fire Credit Union invest in their communities. 

Credit unions pay no federal taxes, unlike big banks, which qualify for FDIC insurance coverage because they do pay taxes. A response to the Great Depression, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits in case the banks fail again. Credit unions do not qualify for FDIC coverage because they aren’t federal taxpayers, but credit unions weren’t around in 1929. They aren’t as susceptible to stock market fluctuations and shareholder agendas. If the FDIC is full-coverage auto insurance, credit unions operate on liability-only. 

Whether you bank with a credit union or not, I think you’ll agree the FDIC is a necessary safety net. It’s one of the finest pieces of regulatory protection in US government history, which is why Trump wants it destroyed. On February 19th, 2025, Trump issued another executive order that effectively dissolved the FDIC’s “Community Bank Advisory Council.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Academic Research Council and Credit Union Advisory Council is also on the chopping block. 

The axe is falling on any “unnecessary governmental entities and federal advisory committees that should be terminated on grounds that they are unnecessary.”

A tradition American as apple pie

If Trump taxes SF Fire Credit Union and hundreds of others like it, he’s really taxing their clients. It seems he views credit unions as one giant pocket begging to be picked. Credit unions are like any other business in that they manage an overhead and operate for profit. The main difference is, they don’t f*ck you coming and going with high fees and low ROI like banks. But Trump looks past his own apple pie at your slice one table over and says “Hey, that’s mine.” Typical rich man, always after that which does not belong to him. 

SF Fire Credit Union President & CEO Kathy Duvall has fought this battle before, and won. Now it’s time for a rematch. 

“Congress is revisiting tax policy, and with key parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act expiring in 2025, they’re looking at every possible source of funding. We cannot allow credit unions to be part of that equation.” 

“Lawmakers need to hear from you—because nothing is more powerful than the voices of their constituents. It takes just one minute to make your voice heard.”

Click here to protect your savings and the financial benefits that set credit unions! 

RELATED: Staying Golden at the San Francisco Fire Credit Union 

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