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Last week, your League offered its first testimony of the 2nd Regular Session of the Maine Legislature providing testimony before the Taxation Committee in opposition to L.D. 1669 - An Act Regarding Levies Placed on Accounts at Financial Institutions for Unpaid State Income Taxes.
Testifying on behalf of the League and Maine's credit unions, Claude Morgan, Collections Manager at Dirigo FCU, explained, "Credit unions are already burdened by a complicated series of steps and protocols related to levies that are very time consuming and complicated. This bill would add to that time consuming process and require a financial institution to follow a set of steps and protocols that would be burdensome on credit union staff. Currently, a financial institution is required to identify eligible funds up to the amount of the levy and surrender those deposits after 21 days after the receipt of the levy and no later than 30 days after receipt. Since 2011, credit unions have been required to identify the source of deposits, determine if those deposits are eligible for collection, and in many instances determine if there are exemptions and look back to over two-months of deposit history to determine what portion of deposits are then collectible for the levying institution. The US Treasury Department delivered those guidelines in 2011. The formula is complex. The cost of making an error is expensive."
Elise Baldacci, Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the Maine CU League, said that the League testified in opposition to his bill because "we do not want to create any additional and unnecessary burden for credit unions." She said that the Committee is holding a work session on the bill on Monday, February 5, to determine next steps and take a vote on moving it forward. "We will be attending the Work Session, and answer any, additional follow-up questions that the Committee might have. We are continuing to urge the Committee to vote ought not to pass."
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