MIAMI - In response to a column published April 10 onHerald.com, The Miami Herald's online version, NAFCU President andCEO Fred Becker wrote in his own letter to the editor that readersshould not take seriously the bankers' `shock' that credit unionsdo not pay corporate income taxes, leaving consumers to bear thebrunt. Becker's counter-letter, published April 20 on Herald.com,said, "[Florida Bankers Association CEO Alex] Snchez might want toreread the Consumer Federation of America study that found that thebenefits that credit unions deliver to the public far exceed thecosts of their tax exemption. Most telling, the study said that thevalue of the tax breaks enjoyed by banks is far greater, inabsolute and relative terms, than the value of the credit-union taxexemption." Becker points out that many banks have converted toSubchapter S Corporation status to avoid paying taxes. He citedFDIC data that showed banks earned record profits last year of$120.6 billion. Snchez's column, entitled Guess who's not payingtaxes?, read, "Let me be clear: There are different kinds of creditunions. There are credit unions that still operate in the wayCongress intended - they serve a limited and specific group ofpeople.Then there are huge credit unions that have hundreds ofmillions of dollars in assets - some are over a billion dollarsstrong. To belong to these credit unions, essentially all you needis a pulse. These multimillion- and billion-dollar credit unions donot a pay a dime in state or federal corporate income or othertaxes."