As the April 15 deadline for filing income taxes approaches, the majority of Americans believe Congress should “completely change’’ the tax system, a survey by the Pew Research Center has found.
Nearly six in 10 respondents said problems with the tax system warrant a total overhaul, while 38% said the system is working pretty well and requires “only minor changes.’’
Opinions have changed little since the same survey was conducted in 2011.
What bothers Americans most about the tax system isn’t the amount of taxes they pay but rather the feeling that some corporations and wealthy people don’t pay their fair share.
Only 27% said they are bothered “a lot” by their tax amount compared with 64% who said they are bothered by some corporations not paying their fair share.
Among other annoyances, 44% said they are bothered a great deal about the complexity of the tax system, while the fewest, 20%, said they are bothered by the feeling that some poor people fail to pay their share in taxes.
When it comes to getting a good value for their money, about half (53%) of people surveyed said they pay about the right amount in taxes, given what they get back from the federal government.
About 40% said they pay more their fair share in taxes and just 4% said they pay less.
While opinions have held steady, there is a widening gap among political parties on some issues. Today, 50% of Republicans say they are paying too much in taxes vs. 30% among Democrats.
Four years ago, the percentages were nearly identical with 37% among Republicans and 38% among Democrats.
When it comes to fairness in the tax system, Americans are split, even if they support revamping it. The largest portion (46%) view it as “moderately fair’’ compared with 4% who say it is “very fair,’’ 24% who said it “not too fair’’ and 24% who say it’s “not fair at all.’’
Among racial groups, blacks and Hispanics see the tax system as fairer than whites.
The results were based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 18-22 among a sample of 1,504 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The study was conducted by interviewers at Princeton Data Source under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
A subsidiary of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pew Research Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., that offers data and research on public opinion, social issues and demographic trends.
