The Independent Community Bankers of America represents 5,000 banks across the country. Senior Vice President of Agriculture and Rural Policy Mark Scanlon argues the system for rural lenders is not fair. “We’ve often pointed out to Congress that the playing field is not really level because you have a competitor called the Farm Credit System that has an effective tax rate of two and a half percent. They don’t pay any taxes on real estate loans and they don’t pay taxes on home loans. That puts banks at a disadvantage when you are competing against a government-sponsored enterprise which is what they are.” The ICBA is promoting legislation to address their concerns.
