FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 13, 2006
Shortly before tax day, American Enterprise Institute public opinion expert Karlyn H. Bowman releases an updated comprehensive collection of tax data gleaned from surveys compiled by major U.S, pollsters. Among the highlights of this Public Opinion on Taxes study:
- In most polls, pluralities or majorities usually say the amount of taxes they pay is too high. Hardly anyone says they pay too little in taxes.
- Local property taxes seem to be the most objectionable tax these days. When people are asked about the worst federal tax, they say the estate tax. However, when asked about the worst state and local taxes, they mention the property tax.
- In a new Harris/Tax Foundation poll, only one in ten Americans would be willing to pay the extra $2,470 per person in taxes to balance the federal budget deficit. Perhaps this is because nearly 60 percent of those surveyed also believe that if they paid the extra taxes the government would simply increase spending rather than balance the budget.
- According to the March 2006 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Democrats have an eleven point edge when asked which party would do the best job on "taxes." Republicans in Congress have a sixteen point edge over their Democratic counterparts when it comes to “holding the line on taxes,” according to the recent Tarrance/Lake Battleground poll.
- About four in ten Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling tax policy, according to a recent PSRA/Pew Research Center poll.
- Americans favor eliminating the estate tax. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed in the new Harris Interactive/Tax Foundation stated that they favored eliminating it completely.
AEI resident fellow Karlyn Bowman is available for interviews. She can be reached at 202-862-5910 or kbowman@aei.org (assistant 202-862-5917 -- afoster@aei.org.)
For additional media inquiries, please contact Véronique Rodman, at vrodman@aei.org or (202) 862-4871.
