National Taxpayers Union (NTU) on Tuesday announced U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent its Taxpayer Defender of the Month in recognition of his work to rein in insider-style stock trading by public officials, slim down and modernize the Internal Revenue Service, and enabling taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned income through the One Big Beautiful Bill and “No Tax on Tips” guidelines.
The award honors leaders who go above and beyond to protect taxpayers through transparency, fiscal discipline, and principled leadership.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was recognized as a Taxpayer Defender of the Month for reining in insider-style stock trading by public officials, modernizing and streamlining the IRS, and helping Americans keep more of their income through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and “No Tax of Tips” guidelines. Pictured on right with Executive Vice President Brandon Arnold (middle) and President Pete Sepp (left).
“Secretary Bessent’s actions protect taxpayers by reorienting the IRS, providing sensible regulations that guard against abuse of the tax code, and adding clarity and commonsense to the tax code,” National Taxpayers Union Executive Vice President Brandon Arnold said.
Under Bessent’s leadership, the Treasury has pushed reforms to reduce IRS waste, reorganize operations, and improve customer service. He has also defended proposals that cut unnecessary IT spending.
Secretary Bessent also led implementation of regulatory changes to ensure tipped income is exempt from federal income tax, focusing on traditionally tipped workers in service sectors while recognizing the importance of the digital economy.
Secretary Bessent publicly supported legislation to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks, arguing such practices erode public trust and would draw SEC scrutiny if done by private citizens.
Anyone can nominate a Taxpayer Defender of the Month on the NTU website.
National Taxpayers Union is the Voice of America’s Taxpayers, advocating for limited taxes, spending, and regulation at the federal, state, and judicial levels across the country.