The Nevada State Treasurer says the tariffs cost Nevadans about $2.1 billion.
Business owners can now apply for a refund from tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.
So, could consumers also reap the benefits? Well, that decision solely lies in the hands of the businesses that have paid tariffs on its imports.
Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine says he believes small businesses and families deserve the bulk of the cut.
"The Trump Administration has been holding onto money that does not belong to them," Conine said in a press call on Thursday.
He is specifically referring to the $166 billion that the federal government will refund business owners across the nation.
This is because the Supreme Court ruled President Trump's tariffs illegal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act back in February.
On Monday, the refund portal opened through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"Now a mechanism is in place to refund those tariffs, but only to large importers," Conine said.
This is true. Business owners can access the portal and must create a specific account to go through many steps to get the refund.
Many reported glitches and issues with the portal when it first opened.
Conine says when the Supreme Court made the ruling, he billed the White House $2.1 billion, because that's how much he calculated that Nevadans spent on tariffs.
"I'd calculate what the average family spent and give that money back," the Nevada treasurer said.
Conine says it would be hard and take a lot of work to figure out how much corporations would need to give back to its customers.
However, he believes the technology in place makes it very doable.
"A lot of these major businesses have set up, the Walmart's, the Target's of the world, know exactly what their clients have purchased over the last couple of years, they track every single purchase by every credit card and they could use the technology they have to figure out exactly how much in tariffs every single one of their consumers had or get real close."
Conine thinks tariffs contributed to the loss of tourism revenue the state saw last year, which he says lost $190 million in tax revenue.
Attorney General Aaron Ford says his office is also looking into what it can do.
"I’m suing to block Trump’s latest round of illegal tariffs, and I will continue fighting to secure refunds for consumers," he sent in a statement to 2 News Nevada. "I will not let up until Trump pays back Nevada families every penny of the $1,700 he owes them.”
That $1,700 comes from a report which an organization claims are the average of how much every American family paid due price increases from tariffs.
