The National Tax Limitation Committee (NTLC) is a pro-taxpayer organization that advocates for limited government, individual liberty, and lower tax rates. NTLC promotes candidates and initiatives that support these goals. 1 NTLC’s priorities include tax reform, enacting a balanced budget amendment to the federal Constitution, and creating an optimally sized government. 2
The National Tax Limitation Foundation (NTLF) is the charitable education and research arm of the National Tax Limitation Committee.
The National Tax Limitation Committee is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. 3
Activity
The National Tax Limitation Committee was established in 1975 as a nonprofit, pro-taxpayer organization that advocates for limited government, individual liberty, and lower tax rates. NTLC promotes candidates and initiatives that support these goals. 1
The National Tax Limitation Committee supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) and opposes proposals to repeal the law by a Democratic Congress and President. NTLC claims that repealing TCJA would lower wages, increase unemployment, and increase corporate and business taxes, which would move jobs out of the United States. NTLC further claims that repealing TCJA would increase taxes enough to create “the worst recession in recent memory.” 4
The National Tax Limitation Committee advocates for the creation of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 2010, NTLC supported an effort by concerned citizens to obtain the 34 state resolutions required to support the amendment proposal. NTLC president Lew Uhler sits on the board of the Center for State-Led National Debt Solutions, which continues to lead the state resolution effort. 5
The National Tax Limitation Committee advocates for an optimally sized government. NTLC points to the work of the late Gerald Scully, who claimed that it is necessary to have a limited government in order to maximize the nation’s rate of economic growth. Scully believed that optimally, the U.S. government should be no larger than 20 percent of gross domestic product, and that higher government spending would be a net drain on the economy. 6
The National Tax Limitation Committee, along with the National Tax Limitation Foundation, has worked with like-minded organizations, often affiliated with the State Policy Network, to organize conferences, seminars, and coalitions to achieve their goals. NTLC president Lew Uhler has been a speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and NTLC has worked with groups like Americans for Responsible Privatization, the Council for Retirement Security, and the Tax Cut Working Group. 7
Financials
The National Tax Limitation Committee took funding from individuals, foundations, and corporations. NTLC’s last publicly disclosed tax return was filed in 2013, where it claimed $1,206,770 in revenue. 8 The National Tax Limitation Committee’s 501(c)(3) education and research arm, the National Tax Limitation Foundation (NTLF), filed a publicly disclosed tax return in 2018, claiming $39,968 in revenue. 9
People
Senior Staff and Advisors
Lew Uhler is founder and president of the National Tax Limitation Committee and the National Tax Limitation Foundation. Uhler formerly served as the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services during the Reagan Administration. 7
Peter Ferrara is an advisor for entitlement reform and budget policy at the NTLF and a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute. Ferrara formerly served in the Office of Policy Development during the Reagan Administration and a U.S. associate deputy attorney general during the George H.W. Bush Administration. 10
Board of Directors
The National Tax Limitation Committee does not appear to have an active board. Former board members include the following individuals.
David Copeland is a former Tennessee state representative and founder of the Taxpayers Coalition. Copeland formerly sat on the board of the American Legislative Exchange Council. 11
Stanton Evans formerly sat as chair of the board of the American Conservative Union. 11
Steven Hayward is a former fellow with the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the Heritage Foundation. 11
Lawrence A. Hunter is a former research fellow at the Institute for Policy Innovation and formerly worked as vice president and chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 11
William Niskanen was a founding board member of NTLC, former chair and distinguished senior economist at the Cato Institute, and former assistant director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 11
Frank Shakespeare is a founding board member of NTLC and an honorary member of the board of trustees for the Heritage Foundation. 11
Richard Vedder is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute and former senior economist at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee. 11
Robert Carleson was a founding board member of NTLC. Carleson was an advisor to Reagan’s 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns and worked as special assistant to the president for policy development during the Reagan Administration. 13
References
- “Home.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 11, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/.
- “On the Issues.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/issues/.
- “The Network: California.” State Policy Network, 2021. Accessed August 11, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/#CA.
- “Defending Tax Reform.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/issue/defending-tax-reform/.
- “Balanced Budget Amendment.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/issue/balanced-budget-amendment/.
- “Right Size of Government.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/issue/seniors/.
- “Meet Lew Uhler.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2020. Accessed August 11, 2021. https://limittaxes.org/bio/.
- National Tax Limitation Committee, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2013, Part I, Line 12.
- National Tax Limitation Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2018, Part I, Line 9.
- “Peter Ferrara.” Heartland Institute, 2021. Accessed August 11, 2021. https://www.heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/peter-ferrara.
- “Board.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2012. Archived from the original January 23, 2012. Accessed August 11, 2021. http://web.archive.org/web/20120123184410/http://limittaxes.org/about/board/.
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Milton Friedman was a founding board member of NTLC. Friedman was an economic adviser to former President Ronald Reagan. 12 “Board.” National Tax Limitation Committee, 2012. Archived from the original January 23, 2012. Accessed August 11, 2021. http://web.archive.org/web/20120123184410/http://limittaxes.org/about/board/.