Rising Number View Tax Law as Unfair, Poll Finds

More than two-thirds of Americans surveyed want the rich to pay more taxes, and an increasing number of people are disenchanted with the new federal tax law, according to a poll released today.

The sixth annual Money magazine survey on Americans and their money also found that many respondents expect the economy to sour in the coming months. But those surveyed don’t expect to see their own financial situations worsen.

The findings of the survey, conducted last spring by Lieberman Research Inc., were based on questionnaires completed by 2,370 adults nationwide. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The survey was taken after taxpayers had their initial encounter with filing returns under the new income tax law.

Thirty-five percent of the respondents said the new law was less fair than the old, while 17% said it was more fair, 15% said it was as fair and 33% said they did not know.

By contrast, in a poll taken in October, 1986, 22% of the respondents said the new law was less fair, while 30% said it was more fair, 11% said it was as fair and 37% did not know.

Sixty-nine percent of the respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported higher taxes for people earning more than $100,000 a year. Nine percent said they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate, while 22% said this campaign stance would not affect their vote.

Nearly half of those surveyed--46%--had no opinion on whether they thought they would be better off financially under a Republican or Democratic administration.