In the latest example of how different Republicans are from Democrats in an increasingly partisan nation, a pre-Tax Day poll finds that most Democrats feel taxes are fair while most Republicans believe they are overtaxed.
Pew Research Center found a 20 point partisan gap on the issue, with 30 percent of Democrats feeling they pay too much compared to 50 percent of Republicans.
Wider Partisan Gap on Whether Congress Should ‘Completely Change’ Federal Tax System
And when political factions are broken out, just 23 percent of liberals feel overtaxed compared to 56 percent of conservatives.
Those divisions are greater than they were in 2011, the last time Pew asked a similar question. Now there are fewer Democrats who feel overtaxed — and more Republicans. In fact, Republicans and Democrats looked at tax fairness similarly in 2011, but now a majority of Republicans feel they pay more than their fair share.
The poll of 1,504 adults conducted Feb. 18-22 found “considerable support for Congress completely changing the federal tax system.” According to the pollster, “4 percent say it is ‘very fair,’ while 46 percent view it as ‘moderately fair.’ About as many people say the tax system is ‘not too fair’ (24 percent) or ‘not fair at all’ (24 percent.)”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
