The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in the nation. It is closely affiliated with a non-profit foundation, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF). The organization has ranked politicians on their perceived fiscal responsibility, in the eyes of the National Taxpayers Union. Policy positions The National Taxpayers Union has worked to enact constitutional limits on government taxes, spending and debt. The organization also played a role in Federal income tax indexing It also worked for the passage of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The NTU favors either a Flat Tax or the FairTax (a national sales tax with rebate) for the United States, as opposed to the current income tax system. The organization argues in favor of the line-item veto for the president. NTU generally opposes crop subsidies by the government (such as for sugar and ethanol). The organization's briefs and policy papers oppose the federal estate tax and support deregulation. NTU also provides information on "Congressional & Executive Pay/Perks" (e.g., NTU estimates the public pensions payments for Members of Congress), and NTU has called for reforms to deny a publicly funded pension to Members of Congress convicted of a felony. Legislation Opposed Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act (S. 540; 113th Congress) – a bill that would suspend the United States debt ceiling until March 15, 2015. The National Taxpayers Union opposed this bill and criticised politicians from both parties saying, "this year, as the limit approached, most Democrats refused to discuss the debt problem at all. Republicans opted to stress important, though mostly unrelated policy goals, thus failing to focus on the key issue at hand." NTU expressed the opinion that spending reforms should be dealt with, instead of just increasing the debt limit. Supported Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (S. 994; 113th Congress) – a bill that aims to make information on federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent. The bill would require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish common standards for financial data provided by all government agencies and to expand the amount of data that agencies must provide to the government website, USASpending. The NTU urged Representatives to vote in favor of the bill, saying that "this legislation would take an important step