Does the public support higher taxes for the rich?
In order to reduce the federal budget deficit, President Obama has proposed allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for high income households to expire, effectively raising the taxes such people pay. The most recent CBS News/New York Times Poll, conducted April 15-20, found just over half of the public thought deficit reduction measures should include a tax hike on households with incomes of $250,000 or more, while slightly fewer, 44 percent, think the government should address the budget deficit without raising taxes on these households.
Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of the fence on this issue: 66 percent of Republicans think people in high-income households should not pay more in taxes, while 65 percent of Democrats think they should. Fifty-five of independents agree with the Democrats. (see chart below)Even most of those who fall into the upper income range support raising taxes for $250,000+ households. In the poll, 59 percent of those with household incomes over $100,000 said they would support higher taxes for those making $250,000+ for deficit reduction (39 percent do not).
Other polls have also shown majority support for increasing taxes on upper income Americans. A Gallup poll conducted in April found 59 percent said that next year's federal budget should include higher taxes for families with household incomes of $250,000 or more. In an April McClatchy/Marist poll, 64 percent said they supported increasing taxes on people with incomes over $250,000 in order to deal with the federal budget deficit. Those questions, as well as the CBS News/New York Times question, explicitly mentioned raising taxes in order to address the deficit.
Americans are comfortable asking the wealthy to pay more in one other area as well: a March CBS News poll found 54 percent (including more than half of Republicans) were willing to reduce Social Security benefits for retirees with higher incomes.
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