Taxpayer Roundup: Recent Work from Taxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayer Group Flags Tariff Refunds, Energy Royalties and Defense Buybacks in Policy Roundup
Shifting tariff policies, federal energy leasing terms and Pentagon contractor payouts are among the issues Taxpayers for Common Sense said could raise costs or reduce returns for U.S. taxpayers.
In a Sept. 12 policy roundup, the Washington-based watchdog group said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. goods add pressure to a trade dispute that it argues could affect American manufacturers and producers. The group also cited legal uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff authorities, saying the federal government has been required to refund roughly $100 billion in previously collected tariffs.
Taxpayers for Common Sense pointed to a Congressional Budget Office projection that the fiscal 2026 federal deficit will reach $2.1 trillion, about $200 billion above its February estimate. The organization attributed part of that increase to lower-than-expected tariff revenue after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s principal tariff authority.
The group also cautioned that erratic tariff actions, fiscal brinkmanship and political pressure on the Federal Reserve could cause investors to demand higher yields on Treasury securities, increasing federal interest costs.
In energy policy, the organization released an analysis of federal oil and gas leasing in Wyoming. It estimated that taxpayers could have received an additional $4.2 billion over the past decade if updated royalty rates had applied to production on federal land. It also said a proposal to lower financial-assurance requirements for cleanup could leave taxpayers exposed to $1.7 billion in liabilities.
The group further cited its analysis of royalty deductions, saying oil and gas companies reduced payments by $5.9 billion over the past decade through claimed transportation and processing allowances. It urged lawmakers to address royalty relief, deductions and penalty provisions affecting development of publicly owned resources.
On defense spending, Taxpayers for Common Sense urged Congress to retain a Senate National Defense Authorization Act provision that would require major Pentagon contractors to establish qualifying defense-investment plans before undertaking stock buybacks or dividend payments. The organization said the four largest contractors spent $89 billion on buybacks and dividends from 2021 through 2024.
Other items in the roundup addressed federal data availability, pipeline-safety standards, Renewable Fuel Standard reporting, disaster-mitigation spending and water conservation in the Colorado River Basin.