Most Americans now think the tax code is unfair, but relatively few are bothered by the amount they have to pay or its complexity, according to a new survey with mixed results for the Republican campaign to overhaul the tax system.
Fifty-six percent of respondents said the tax system is unfair, the Pew Research Center found, up from fewer than half in recent years.
But the top concerns that people have about the tax code is not that it penalizes them for work or that it is too complex, the main motivations for the tax reform plan authored by congressional Republicans.
Instead, large majorities expressed frustration that some corporations don’t pay their “fair share.” Sixty-two percent of respondents said that corporations not paying enough bothered them “a lot.” Similarly, 60 percent said it bothered them a lot that some wealthy people are not paying enough.
And it doesn’t appear from the survey that most people are looking for a tax cut. Instead, respondents were almost evenly split on the question of whether their tax burden bothered them, with only 27 percent saying it bothered them a lot. There is greater concern about the overall complexity of the tax system, with 43 percent bothered a lot by it.
Overall, the survey hints that there is likely a gulf between business owners, including small business owners, who are increasingly desperate for tax reform, and the general public.
And the existing divisions between Republicans and Democrats are only widening. Only a minority of Republicans care that businesses or the wealthy might be paying too little in taxes and that minority is shrinking.
The reverse is true for Democrats. The group most bothered by potential tax dodging by the rich and businesses is middle-income Democrats, earning between $30,000 to $74,999 as a family.
For its research, Pew surveyed 1,501 people by phone in April.
