Pew Research has released a new poll revealing that more than half of Americans (53%) think they pay the right amount of taxes to the federal government. On the other hand, 40% say they pay too much and sadly, only 27% are bothered “a lot” by their tax burden.
The public’s opinion of corporate taxation isn’t so generous. Almost two-thirds (64%) say they are bothered “a lot” by corporations that don’t pay their fair share of taxes. Add class-warfare into the mix and we see that 61% are bothered “a lot” by wealthy people who are not paying their fair share.
If you were curious about how these results break down along party lines, you will not be disappointed. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they are paying too much in taxes with 50% of Republicans saying so and 30% of Democrats saying the same.
The partisan contrast is becoming more stark. “In the 2011 survey, nearly identical percentages of Republicans (37%) and Democrats (38%) said they were paying more than their fair share.”
And it’s not just the personal tax issue that has a partisan divide. Republicans and Democrats differ in attitudes toward corporations and wealthy people. Three-quarters of Democrats are bothered “a lot” by corporations and wealthy individuals (72%) that do not pay their fair share in taxes. By comparison, 53% of Republicans are bothered “a lot” by corporation getting away with a lower tax burden and 45% are bothered by wealthy people.
The survey was conducted among 1504 adults between the dates of February 18-22, 2015. Perhaps it would be interesting to see what the results would be if these questions were asked immediately following tax day.
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