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National Taxpayers Union

U.S. right-leaning / libertarian-leaning fiscal advocacy group

Owned byNot owned by a company. It is a membership-based nonprofit advocacy group (501(c)(4)) with an affiliated, separate research arm, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (501(c)(3)). It is run by a board and staff, with Pete Sepp as president.
FundingMembership dues, individual and corporate donations, and philanthropic grants. The Foundation relies on tax-deductible gifts and foundation grants. Sources report roughly 362,000 members, and the 2017 filing shows about $4.7 million in revenue for the main organization. Detailed donor lists are not public for the advocacy arm.
On the administrationmixed

Background

The National Taxpayers Union was founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson (some sources give a later formation date) to push for lower taxes and limits on government spending. Its research and education arm, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, was set up in 1973. The group became known for campaigns for a balanced-budget amendment and for its annual congressional ratings of lawmakers on spending and tax votes. Pete Sepp is president, and Brandon Arnold is executive vice president. It is funded by dues, donations and grants rather than advertising or an owner, and it takes positions on federal and state budget and tax issues. It calls itself nonpartisan, and it does publish critiques of both parties and has supported some bipartisan efforts, such as nonprofit tax policy reforms and opposing a private foundation excise tax in 2025. Even so, its core agenda of lower taxes, spending cuts and market-oriented reform places it on the U.S. right or libertarian side of the spectrum. In Trump's second term it has criticized tariffs as taxes on Americans, publishing analyses that put the cost of Trump's Section 301 and 232 tariffs at about $2.2 trillion over a decade. It has also called the president's budget a 'mixed bag' for taxpayers and has questioned optimistic assumptions about tariff revenue after the Supreme Court ruled against most of the import taxes. Its Foundation has also filed amicus briefs in tariff litigation.

Sources

  1. National Taxpayers Union (Wikipedia)
  2. National Taxpayers Union - Influence Watch
  3. National Taxpayers Union - Ballotpedia
  4. Trump's Budget Offers a Mixed Bag for Taxpayers - NTU
  5. Nine Things to Know About Trump's $2.2 Trillion Tax Hike - NTU
  6. NTUF Amicus Brief, Learning Resources (Supreme Court)
  7. National Taxpayers Union Foundation - ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

Profile compiled 2026-10-09; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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