Poll: More Americans Say Their Taxes Fair

Where you stand on the taxes you pay depends greatly on how hefty your earnings are, according to a new CBS News poll.

Fifty percent of Americans think the amount they pay in taxes is fair - a slight decrease from the last few years, but up from an April 1997 CBS News poll.

The percentage who think they pay more than their fair share in taxes has risen from 37% three years ago to 43%.


What Are Your Views? Click Below on the CBS Interactive Poll!


Back in 1997 Americans viewed the amount of taxes they paid as even less fair. Then, 49% said they were paying more than their fair share of federal income taxes, while 47% said they paid the right amount.


Do You Pay Your Fair Share Of Income Taxes?

2010
About right amount ? ? 50%
More than fair share ? ? 43
Less than fair share ? ? 1

April 2007
About right amount ? ? 55%
More than fair share ? ? 37
Less than fair share ? ? 1

April 2006
About right amount ? ? 58%
More than fair share ? ? 34
Less than fair share ? ? 1

April 1997
About right amount ? ? 47%
More than fair share ? ? 49
Less than fair share ? ? 2


Americans' opinions of the fairness of taxes is divided by income level, with the wealthier more likely to object to tax levels.

Two in three Americans with incomes of more than $100,000 a year feel they pay more than their fair share in taxes; on the opposite end, more than half (57%) of Americans earning less than $50,000 say their tax levels are fair.


Do You Pay Your Fair Share Of Income Taxes?
(by income)

Under $50K
About right ? ? 57%
More than fair ? ? 36
Less than fair ? ? 2

$50-$100K
About right ? ? 52%
More than fair ? ? 46
Less than fair ? ? 1

Over $100K
About right ? ? 32%
More than fair ? ? 66
Less than fair ? ? 0


As the deadline for filing taxes approaches, there are some procrastinators, but also some who say they haven't even paid attention to April 15.

According to the CBS News poll conducted between March 29 and April 1, 61% of Americans had already filed their taxes for 2009. Another 20% said they plan to get them done by the April 15 deadline. Three percent have applied for an extension. Six percent say they just aren't thinking about it. Another 9% volunteered that they don't file or don't earn enough to warrant filling out a 1040 form.

Americans with incomes of $50,000 a year or more are slightly more likely to have already filed their taxes than Americans who earn less.

Complete Poll Results: Americans and Income Taxes (March-April 2010)

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 858 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone March 29-April 1, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[omnix]

This is a faulty poll, since psychologically people have a tendency to oppose being forced to pay out, especially those who are living near the poverty level. To make this a less-biased poll, the poll should have been more about what should be the effective rate of taxes for the various income ranges and contrast that with facts and figures collected from other sources. This is more like asking do you mind being taxed, which of course most people do mind being taxed; however, it is a necessity in a democratic (and most other) society.

As for the general gist of the poll, I believe taxes need to rise a little across the board to bring down the national deficit. Along with that, we need to withdraw from Bush's wars and stop the war on drugs. This will reduce the "bleed", and allow the federal government to get back to a level of solvency. State and local governments need to rescind tax abatements for businesses that have outsourced work to other countries. Long-term, I would like to see the federal income tax on businesses revised to impose a flat tax for all businesses, with few if any loopholes, at around .5% below the OECD average.

If we did all of this, we could eliminate the federal deficit, and long-term we could reduce the effective tax rates of all citizens and businesses.

On top of this, we need to impose fair-value labor compensation standards on business, to ensure they pay employees more equitably. I like fining businesses that pay a small group (>1%) of the employees/executives more than 5 times the average of all other employees. This will have the added benefit of reducing (not eliminating) the need for social programs like welfare and food stamps.

Until then, we are in a fiscal death spiral that could result in the failure of the US dollar, which will result in the kind of inflation that hit Brazil a little over a decade ago.

Oh, and can you people get it straight, the 47% of the population that "doesn't pay taxes" really do. And most of them are children/young adults, mentally or physically disabled, and/or otherwise unable to make enough money to survive. I will admit that there are people who circumvent paying taxes, and most of them are affluent. These are the real people I have a problem with, since they tend to have more to protect and rely on the social services and public education system to prevent more people from trying to rob and/or kill them. In addition, many of these people didn't actively serve in the military during war-time and are able to keep their children from being drafted. This makes them cowards, and I personally don't have a problem forcing them to pay a progressively higher rate than those who were willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Lastly, on this opposition to "big government", this is a fallacious argument that misses the real root of the problem. Most sane people believe that the government should only be as big as necessary to effectively provide the services and functions we the people (majority rule) decide it should provide. I welcome the discussion on what services are appropriate, but blindly opposing the efforts of our government will undoubtedly result in hurting people. In conservative states, like Texas, this blind ambition to cut taxes has resulted in many people who were layed off because of the recession to need food stamps. However, because of the "cut backs" in the state, most people had to wait 3 or 4 months before getting assistance. I know, we almost lost everything because we expected the system to be solvent and accessible, but wasn't.

[RR76PHC]

Before everyone gets up in arms over this poll, stop and think. Stop and look at the way the questions are worded, and more importantly look at how the ste responses are worded.
Now consider how the answers can be manipulated to support a given arugment.
If you answer, No I don't feel I pay my share in taxes, you could mean that you pay more than your share, or less. Which way will the left bent media use this information, how will the right bent manipulate the information?
So, if the questions are set to ensure a given response, and support a given position.
This poll is misleading, disingenuous, and useless.
Have an honest, open debate and you may get nearer the true pulse of the populace.
Do I think I pay my share in taxes, certainly and then a lot more!
If the American public realized just what they pay in taxes, they would be shocked. Hidden taxes on fuel, purchases, phone usage, etc..add it up...
Quit using my earnings to save the stinking whales, turtles and provide drug rehab to those breaking the law. I didn't stick the needle in that arm, why an I the one paying for drug rehab!? I've never done drugs! And I'm sure there are plenty of private organizations out there that will raise money from those who want to support saving the whales and turtles.

[tsigili]

If nearly 50% of all Americans are paying NO taxes......their taxes are NOT fair!

No one should be able to avoid a minimum tax, at any income level.

[ajvw]

Funny that only 57% of the people who earn less than 50K say they pay "about the right" amount of taxes. Because if they're married they probable shouldn't be paying anything. Guess that's about right. nice poll cBS

[padgettba]

These polls never give you the right answer as an option. I am a sole proprietor who has to pay the 15.3% self employment tax in addition to the federal and state taxes everybody else pays. I pay more than my fair share of taxes.

[hologram5]

www.fairtax.org
Need I say more?

[babooph]

The most greedy seem to be those whose rate dropped from about 90% under IKE -now sucking up the massive reductions ,getting down near the 20s-their long term investments only at 15 % -often taxing them on less % overall cash as a bus driver-W.Buffet felt badly at being taxed a lower % than his office girl[not all it seems are so greedy...]No wonder this greedy bunch do not mind voting for costly wars-they have suckers to pay for them...

[ronsapoke]

excuse me but for all those people who think they work so hard for their money,come with me for a week,as the ceo's under cover go for a week and can't begin to do all this hard work that the people working for their company do,If all those people leave I can see bankruptcy coming and guess what they won't have all those taxes to pay!!!!!!!!

[xicodude]

Taxes on the Rich will be higher to pay for 1 trillion dollars worth of wars. We are paying for the big government of the GOP. Apparently the GOP doesn't consider the military government.

[doctor_know]

you are correct

[Jason-GA]

Dr. No needs to dump the rest of his Kool-Aid" and crawl out from under his nanny government's dress!!

[wjksea]

If the government is SO bad as the wealthy CEOs say it is. Why do they invest so heavily in it? Is it not a poor decision to invest in something so bad by spending so much in the bribing of the politicians it's comprised of?

The coal miner CEO claims he hates government yet he spent 3 million investing in a state supreme court justice.