American voters want the Republican tax reform plan, according to a new poll commissioned by a Republican group.
American Action Network, the political nonprofit aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., fielded a poll over the weekend after the House GOP tax overhaul was unveiled last Thursday. The survey found broad support for tax reform, and for elements of the Republican plan, which the House Ways and Means Committee is in the process of reviewing.
In some of the polls key findings, 57 percent of likely voters said their taxes are too high; 84 percent favor reforming the federal tax code; and 81 percent said doing so should be an “important priority,” if not the top priority. The survey was conducted Thursday through Sunday by GS Strategy Group. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The American Action Network is affiliated with Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC focused on helping Republicans hold their House majority in 2018. Together, the groups regularly target Democrats, and some of the messaging in this latest survey could be interpreted as designed to produce that outcome.
The poll asked some loaded, though hardly out of bounds, messaging questions, such as:
“Thinking about your vote for your next congressman, which of the following is more important to you? The candidate will work with Paul Ryan to reform our tax code so it is simpler and gives middle class Americans a tax cut. [or] The candidate will work with [House Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] to fight against any tax cuts and loosened regulations for businesses.”
Not surprisingly, 54 percent of likely voters said they preferred the candidate who would work with Ryan to lower taxes; just 31 percent wanted the candidate who would work with Pelosi to block tax relief.
