Trump backtracks on plan to charge 20 percent fee for ships traveling through Strait of Hormuz - POLITICO

The president added that the previously announced 20 percent fee will be replaced with trade and investment deals between Gulf states and the U.S. “Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” Trump said...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/14/donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-fee-backtrack-00996551 

US to take over Strait of Hormuz, charge 20 percent fee for cargo shipped through, Trump says - POLITICO

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz — and will be reimbursed “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” for overseeing one of the world’s most critical oil passageways that has been at the center of the U.S.’s re-escalating war with Iran. 

“We will become guardians of the strait,” Trump said during an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “We’re going to hit [Iran] very hard and keep the strait, and probably run it.”…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/13/donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-fee-00994508

 

‘Extremely overwhelmed’: apartment renters face rising tide of fees

Guardian investigation: Renters at apartment buildings operated by industry giant Greystar complain they’re deluged by ‘unfair’ and ‘inflated’ fees. The company denies these claims…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/24/apartment-renters-rising-fees

 

Federal judge rules Trump’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visas unlawful

In his ruling, Sorokin’s found that the fee amounted to a tax, rather than a regulatory restriction. Since the constitution gives Congress, not the president, the exclusive power to levy taxes, Trump lacked the authority to impose it...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/trump-h-1b-visa-fee-invalidated

 

20 states lodge lawsuit against Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee - POLITICO

Bonta claimed that the increases for the skilled-worker visa are illegal because they exceed what Congress has authorized and undermine its intent in establishing the program. All of the states joining the lawsuit have Democratic attorneys general...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/12/trump-visa-fee-lawsuit-00689510 

 

Royalties for Drilling on Public Lands to Increase - The New York Times

For the first time since 1920, the government has raised the rates that companies pay. The fossil fuel industry says it will hurt the economy...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/climate/biden-administration-raises-costs-to-drill-and-mine-on-public-lands.html

Biden announces ‘strike force’ to crack down on ‘unfair and illegal’ prices

Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said: "Even as prices have come down on important items like a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs, some corporations aren't passing those savings on to consumers. Instead, some corporations are tacking on extra fees, hiding costs and sometimes even breaking the law."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/05/biden-strike-force-unfair-illegal-prices

California's San Jose to institute first-in-the-nation gun ownership requirements

The California city of San Jose is set to become the first in the United States to enforce an ordinance requiring most gun owners to pay a fee and carry liability insurance…

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/californias-san-jose-institute-first-nation-gun-ownership-requirements-rcna13579

Nursing homes pursue higher payments for extra services, leaving them vulnerable during the pandemic - The Washington Post

The fee-for-service system misses important priorities and practically invites fraud.....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/27/nursing-home-incentives/

11th Circuit Judges Robert Lagoa and Barbara Luck broke ethics rules to stop up to 1 million Floridians from voting in 2020.

A breach of judicial ethics may have prevented up to 1 million Floridians from voting in November. On July 1, a federal appeals court lifted an order that had blocked Florida from imposing a poll tax on people convicted of felonies. The U.S. Supreme Court then declined to step in. If two judges appointed by President Donald Trump had complied with the judicial Code of Conduct, Florida’s discriminatory and unworkable poll tax might well have remained blocked through Election Day. And Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are now demanding that these judges explain their justification for flouting their ethical duties.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/11th-circuit-florida-fines-fees-judicial-ethics.html

Supreme court allows Florida to restrict people with felony convictions from voting

Florida can continue to block people with felony convictions from voting until they have repaid all fines and fees they owe, the US supreme court said on Thursday, a major decision that makes it less likely that nearly three-quarters of a million Floridians will get to vote in November. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/16/florida-voting-rights-felons-supreme-court-restricts-amendment-4

Consumer Reports: Hidden cable TV fees may cost you $450 extra annually - USA TODAY

Consumer Reports says add-on fees from Verizon, Spectrum and others are company-mandated and useless. Its new Whatthefee.com website spotlights them.....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/10/03/consumer-reports-cable-tv-add-fees-can-cost-you-450-yearly/3842661002/

TurboTax Uses A “Military Discount” to Trick Troops Into Paying to File Their Taxes - ProPublica

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, created and promoted a "military discount" that charges service members who are eligible to file for free.
https://www.propublica.org/article/turbotax-military-discount-trick-troops-paying-to-file-taxes

The Nationwide Fight Over Fines And Fees (Joshua Johnson, The 1A)

Cash-strapped cities around the nation are increasingly using heavy fines to fund basic services — in turn, sending residents into debt and bankruptcy. Some groups are targeted more than others. A 2017 report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that “harmful fines and fees practices are most common in communities of color and, to a lesser degree, in low-income communities.”
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2019-05-23/the-nationwide-fight-over-excessive-fines-and-fees

Team Trump tries to deflect news they agreed to $2 million payment for Otto Warmbier release - Daily Kos

Everyone in the Trump "administration" lies about everything, all the time, reflexively, the end. After the Washington Post learned that Donald Trump personally approved a promised $2 million to North Korea for the "medical care" of comatose American prisoner Otto Warmbier, Trump got predictably peeved and called the report "fake news." ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/29/1854131/-Team-Trump-tries-to-deflect-news-they-agreed-to-2-million-payment-for-Otto-Warmbier-release

Trump administration hid report revealing Wells Fargo charged high fees to students - POLITICO

The report raises questions about whether campus accounts with high fees comply with Education Department rules. ....
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/10/student-loan-fees-wells-fargo-1021129