More Americans say that the amount they will pay in federal income taxes this year is “unfair” than those who say their amount is reasonable, according to a new poll, and most say that corporations and wealthy people are not paying enough.
The new findings from Gallup show that 50 percent of adults surveyed nationally this year said their income tax rate is not fair — continuing a steady upward trend from 35 percent in 2017. About 46 percent of respondents said they believe they will pay a “fair” amount in federal income taxes, compared to 61 percent who said that in 2017.
A Gallup analyst wrote in the summary of the findings that the decline in perceived fairness may be tied to inflation and higher prices in recent years.
About 59 percent of poll respondents said the amount of federal income tax they have to pay is “too high,” while 38 percent said it’s “about right” and 2 percent said it is “too low.”
Gallup typically conducts its annual polling on the topic during tax season. The percentage of people who said their federal income tax bills were too high dipped below 50 percent from 2018 to 2020, but it has generally hovered at or above half in recent decades.
When asked about the tax rates for general groups, 70 percent of respondents said that corporations pay too little and 58 percent said higher-income earners don’t pay enough. Comparatively, 58 percent said that lower income people have to pay too much in federal income taxes while 54 percent said the same about middle-income people.
“Americans continue to believe that upper-income people pay too little in taxes, so it is unclear to what extent the public would support legislation that cuts taxes for high earners, as well as corporations,” Gallup’s analyst wrote.
President Trump and many of his GOP allies have advocated for extending personal income tax breaks that primarily benefit wealthier people.
The divide that Gallup’s poll found over which groups pay too little or too much based on their income levels spanned across party lines.
About 43 percent of Republicans surveyed said that lower-income people pay too much, 51 percent said middle-income people pay too much. About a third of Republicans said upper income people pay too little and nearly half said corporations pay too little.
The majority of Democrats and independents agreed, though in larger numbers, that people who are in lower income brackets pay too much, while corporations and people with more money pay too little.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,002 Americans across all states and Washington, D.C., by phone March 3 to March 16. Its margin of error is 4 percentage points.