Colorado business owner among those who will apply for tariff refunds after Supreme Court ruling

A refund process opened on Monday for businesses across the country, including in Colorado, to apply for tariff refunds.

For businesses like Rare Finds Warehouse, it means looking for money back on some of what it paid for imported goods that fill its stores in Denver and Highlands Ranch.

"My broker got in touch with me right away and said, ' You know we're going to try and help you,'" said Tony Wilson, co-owner of Rare Finds Warehouse, an importer with stores in Denver and Highlands Ranch.  

The refunds will be coming out after the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs, announced by President Trump last April and imposed under the International Emergency Economic Protections Act, were illegal. U.S. Treasury and Customs and Border Protection data indicate that nearly $175 billion in tariff revenue has been collected through February 19th.

For importers like Rare Finds, it's a chance to recover some of what has been paid out. Their customs broker has offered to help the store file for refunds. The amount they have paid has been per entry and would vary widely as the president moved in different directions on tariffs.

"I was in seven countries this last year, just finding unique things and working my way through the tariffs," said Wilson. "Let's just say a container costs $30,000 of product, ok. When it was coming from India, suddenly it was $45,000 because your tariff was 50%."

Much of the cost of the tariffs ate into profits, he said.

"You have no choice. If you're still owning the inventory, then you still have that tariff parked in different parts of your building. You can't just absorb it. Even the biggest boys can't do that. It's just not possible," said Wilson.

The Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting said in its March forecast, "Importers and firms have absorbed much of the tariff costs so far, muting immediate consumer price impacts while creating more persistent, modestly higher inflation as consumer passthrough gradually increases."

Gov. Jared Polis's office said in a statement that Colorado's effective tariff rate went from 3% in 2024 to 21% in 2025, the highest level in more than a century.

"Even now, we expect Colorado's effective tariff rate to remain around 8.8%, functioning as a tax on businesses that raises costs and makes it more difficult to grow and hire," said Polis.

"We were able to lower the prices when the tariffs came down," said Wilson.

But there are still high tariffs on things like steel and aluminum. Some of what they buy contains metal. Much of it was produced years ago and is contained in aged or antique goods.

Wilson says being an importer is what makes up their identity.

"It's trying to find things that other people don't have and keep us unique," he said.

Wilson said, "This is an American company doing business internationally, but all the business is being done here in America. We're employing 25 people. We're feeding the customers unique things here in America. We're helping the economy just as much by bringing things in from other parts of the world. And if everyone's working together internationally, it seems like we would be in a much more successful world in general," he said.

Tariff refunds are estimated to take between 60 to 90 days.