National Taxpayers Union

U.S. right

Background

James Dale Davidson, a 22-year-old former Nixon campaign volunteer, founded the National Taxpayers Union in 1969 to give taxpayers an organized voice in Washington. A companion research arm, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, was chartered as a 501(c)(3) in 1977. Grover Norquist served as executive director from 1978 to 1982 before departing to found Americans for Tax Reform. The group became widely known for its annual congressional scorecard, which grades every senator and representative on every vote affecting taxes, spending, debt, and major regulations. John Berthoud led the organization from 1997 until his death in 2007, and Pete Sepp has served as president in recent years. Funding has included grants from the Koch Family Foundations and, in the early 1990s, corporate pass-through money from Philip Morris to oppose excise-tax increases. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the NTU as right-biased, noting its uniformly conservative legislative agenda and 100% Republican political contribution record. On the Trump second term, the NTU has supported making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and praised DOGE-related discretionary spending reductions, but has published pointed criticism of broad tariff policies, calling them economically harmful to taxpayers and an unreliable substitute for income-tax revenue.

Sources

1. National Taxpayers Union – Wikipedia
2. National Taxpayers Union – Media Bias/Fact Check
3. National Taxpayers Union – OpenSecrets
4. National Taxpayers Union – Ballotpedia
5. National Taxpayers Union – InfluenceWatch
6. Tax Cuts Helping Business, But Tariffs Sting – NTU/Newsmax
7. The National Taxpayers Union marks its 50th anniversary – Washington Times

Profile compiled 2026-07-10; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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