April 11, 2013 - American Voters Say 2-1 Taxes Are Too Complicated, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; But Most Say They Pay Their Fair Share Word format PDF format Almost two-thirds of American voters, 64 percent, have someone else prepare their federal income tax return and say 64 - 31 percent that the federal income tax system is too complicated, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. They personally pay their fair share of taxes, 57 percent of American voters tell the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll, while 36 percent say they pay more than their fair share and 3 percent say they pay less. Opinions about income groups are: 55 percent say the rich pay less than fair share, while 14 percent say more and 24 percent say the rich pay about the right amount; 35 percent say lower income people pay more than their fair share, while 19 percent say less and 39 percent say about right; 50 percent say middle-income people pay more than their fair share, while 4 percent say less and 42 percent say about right. Eliminating most deductions and lowering overall tax rates would be a "good idea," voters say 47 - 35 percent. This change would not affect their tax bill, 41 percent of voters say, while 29 percent say they would pay more and 20 percent say they would pay less. "By 2-1 margins, American voters say the system is too complicated and that they get someone else to do their taxes," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "And while almost everyone gripes about paying taxes, most voters say they pay their fair share, while about a third say they pay too much. "There is only a small gender difference on tax preparation, as 36 percent of men and 31 percent of women do it themselves." "More than half of voters, 55 percent, say the rich pay less than their fair share of taxes, while 19 percent say those with lower incomes pay too little and only 4 percent say the middle class fails to hold up its obligations," said Brown. "And only 3 percent say they personally pay too little." The strongest support for reforming the tax system to lower rates with fewer deductions is among Republicans, 56 - 27 percent, with independent voters supporting it 45 - 36 percent and Democrats divided 43 - 41 percent. Support for reform rises with income, from 43 - 40 percent among those making less than $50,000 per year to 55 - 32 percent among those making more than $100,000 per year. There is a large gender gap as men support reform 56 - 31 percent, while women are divided 40 - 39 percent. By a large 71 - 21 percent margin, including 62 - 28 percent among Republicans, American voters say Congress should close tax loopholes for people with higher incomes. From March 26 - April 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,711 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 30. Do you feel people with higher incomes pay more than their fair share in federal income taxes, less than their fair share, or is the amount they pay about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More than fair share 14% 26% 5% 14% 16% 13% 16% 7% 11% Less than fair share 55 32 74 55 52 58 54 64 48 About right 24 34 15 25 26 22 24 21 24 DK/NA 7 8 6 6 6 8 6 7 17 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ More than fair share 18% 13% 11% 12% 20% 11% 17% 15% Less than fair share 54 55 59 57 48 57 55 54 About right 24 24 21 27 27 26 23 22 DK/NA 4 8 9 3 5 7 5 9 31. Do you feel people with lower incomes pay more than their fair share in federal income taxes, less than their fair share, or is the amount they pay about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More than fair share 35% 20% 46% 35% 32% 38% 31% 57% 43% Less than fair share 19 33 5 19 22 15 20 10 10 About right 39 40 42 40 40 39 43 24 37 DK/NA 7 7 6 6 6 8 6 9 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ More than fair share 28% 38% 45% 31% 21% 44% 32% 33% Less than fair share 24 16 11 22 27 11 22 19 About right 42 38 38 41 47 41 42 37 DK/NA 6 8 6 5 5 4 5 10 32. Do you feel people with middle incomes pay more than their fair share in federal income taxes, less than their fair share, or is the amount they pay about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More than fair share 50% 50% 50% 49% 46% 54% 49% 53% 43% Less than fair share 4 3 4 4 6 2 3 3 7 About right 42 43 43 44 45 39 43 40 40 DK/NA 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 4 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ More than fair share 49% 51% 48% 52% 51% 38% 56% 51% Less than fair share 4 4 4 4 4 6 3 3 About right 45 40 42 43 44 50 39 41 DK/NA 2 5 7 1 1 5 2 6 33. And how about you, do you feel you pay more than your fair share in federal income taxes, less than your fair share, or is the amount you pay about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More than fair share 36% 39% 31% 37% 36% 36% 34% 46% 39% Less than fair share 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 2 4 About right 57 55 63 56 57 56 58 50 50 DK/NA 4 3 3 4 2 5 4 2 7 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ More than fair share 33% 38% 34% 36% 40% 33% 43% 32% Less than fair share 5 3 3 5 3 3 4 3 About right 61 55 57 57 56 62 50 59 DK/NA 2 5 5 1 1 2 2 6 34. Who usually does your federal income tax return? Do you do it yourself or do you have someone do it for you? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Self 34% 29% 33% 38% 36% 31% 34% 25% 33% Someone else 64 70 64 61 63 65 64 72 59 DK/NA 2 1 4 2 1 3 2 4 8 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Self 41% 30% 32% 37% 33% 40% 35% 28% Someone else 58 67 63 63 66 59 64 68 DK/NA 1 3 4 - - 1 1 4 35. Do you think the federal tax system is too complicated, or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes/too complicated 64% 73% 58% 63% 69% 60% 69% 52% 42% No, not 31 24 35 33 28 34 27 40 47 DK/NA 5 3 7 4 3 6 3 9 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes/too complicated 72% 61% 56% 65% 78% 49% 66% 72% No, not 25 34 38 31 20 47 31 22 DK/NA 3 6 6 4 2 4 3 7 PREPARES TAX RETURN Q34 Self SomeoneElse Yes/too complicated 59% 68% No, not 40 27 DK/NA 2 5 36. Suppose income tax rates were lowered and most deductions were eliminated. Do you think this change in the tax system would be a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Good idea 47% 56% 43% 45% 56% 40% 51% 36% 37% Bad idea 35 27 41 36 31 39 32 49 43 DK/NA 18 17 16 18 14 21 17 15 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Good idea 52% 45% 43% 54% 55% 46% 49% 47% Bad idea 31 37 40 31 32 40 37 32 DK/NA 17 18 17 15 13 14 14 21 PREPARES TAX RETURN Q34 Self SomeoneElse Good idea 49% 47% Bad idea 36 35 DK/NA 15 18 37. If tax rates were lowered and most deductions were eliminated, do you think you would pay more in taxes, pay less in taxes, or pay about the same as you pay now? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp More 29% 26% 28% 31% 27% 30% 29% 35% 25% Less 20 17 21 22 21 19 18 22 31 About the same 41 48 41 36 43 39 43 35 35 DK/NA 10 9 11 11 9 12 10 8 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ More 26% 30% 29% 29% 31% 31% 34% 24% Less 22 19 20 21 22 31 19 13 About the same 42 40 42 41 38 33 37 50 DK/NA 10 10 10 9 9 5 10 13 38. Do you think Congress should close tax loopholes for Americans with higher incomes or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes/Close loopholes 71% 62% 79% 70% 74% 67% 74% 59% 57% No 21 28 14 22 20 22 18 32 28 DK/NA 9 9 7 8 6 11 7 8 15 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes/Close loopholes 77% 67% 68% 72% 78% 64% 70% 75% No 16 23 22 20 16 28 22 16 DK/NA 6 9 9 8 6 8 7 9 Demographic Summary
