Calls for higher taxes on the highest income and wealth groups were a major part of President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. The administration's interest in raising taxes on the wealthy, including the recently proposed Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act that would require America's wealthiest households to pay at least 20% of their total income, has continued since President Biden took office.
But at the end of the day, the $430 billion anti-inflation law that passed the Senate, passed the House, and was on its way to being signed into law by the president would directly change tax rates for wealthy Americans, and for that matter, for all Americans. There was no. As a report in the hill The new bill “excludes most of President Biden's proposals to extract more government revenue from wealthy taxpayers, including higher personal income tax rates for high-income earners, higher inheritance taxes, and stock and real estate holdings.” Higher taxes on capital gains, a tax on millionaires, a plan to increase the net investment income tax, and a surtax on high-income households are among the plans repealed from the Inflation Control Act.
Some of the provisions of the new law will undoubtedly affect the taxes of wealthy people (and other taxpayers) indirectly. First, the law provided billions of dollars in new funding to the IRS. This could lead to more frequent and rigorous audits, which could ultimately result in higher taxes. Additionally, corporate tax increases may impact stockholders. These tend to be high-income earners, but the average worker's 401(k) plan and pay increase can also be affected. Other entities affected by the bill argue that the increased tax burden will be passed on to taxpayers.
But overall, the vast majority of wealthy taxpayers were spared the specific or direct tax increases originally envisioned by Democratic leaders.
On the other hand, the average American probably doesn't care if the law is followed. had Increase taxes on the wealthy. Americans tend to support higher taxes on high-income earners. This reality has been firmly established across a variety of public opinion indicators for many years.
Case in point, Gallup updated its classic question about taxes on the wealthy.
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This question was first asked by luck Back in 1939, at the tail end of the Great Depression. At that time, there were record unemployment and poverty rates. One might speculate that Americans would happily agree that the wealthy should be heavily taxed. But that wasn't actually the case. A 1939 poll found that despite difficult economic conditions, only 35% of Americans supported this idea, while 54% disapproved.
When Gallup asked the question again in 1998, a slim majority of 51% disagreed. In the nine questions asked since then, positive responses to the idea of “heavy taxes on the wealthy'' have been generally high, albeit with some variation. In 2008 and 2011, the public disapproved by a narrow margin. However, in surveys conducted in 2013, 2015, 2016 and in July of this year, a minority approved the idea of heavily taxing the wealthy to redistribute wealth. The latest results show 52% in favor and 47% against.
In short, this question confirms the well-documented findings above. Americans tend to agree that people with more money should pay even more taxes than they do now.
Attitudes toward taxing the wealthy vary by party and the wording of the question.
As is often the case, American public opinion on taxing the wealthy changes depending on how the policy is explained. And it's not constant across all population segments.
First, not surprisingly, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to support heavier taxes on the wealthy. This partisan gap has been large and consistent over the years.
About 7 in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have supported heavier taxes on the wealthy every time the classic Gallup question has been asked since October 2008. This is matched by less than a third of consistent Republicans. In the July update, 79% of Democrats support the idea of imposing heavier taxes on the wealthy. 24% of Republicans agree. The partisan gap seen since October 2008 is slightly larger than in 2007 and April 2008.
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All other questions about taxes on the wealthy that I'm familiar with show this same kind of partisan divide. Democrats tend to support redistribution. Republicans don't.
Attitudes also vary depending on how tax policies for the wealthy are explained in the wording of the survey questions.
Gallup's trend questions are notable for their unique wording. This question directly asks how far “government” should go. He talks about the redistribution of wealth and questions the “heavy taxes” on the wealthy. The more benignly worded questions that I typically use generate higher support for the concept of taxing the wealthy.
As an example, Gallup has long asked the public about the tax burden placed on different segments of society. Gallup's questions give Americans the choice of whether each segment will pay its fair share, whether it's too much or too little. For more than a quarter-century, at least 6 in 10 Americans, with just one exception, have agreed that high-income Americans pay too little in taxes. This includes his 62% of Gallup's latest update for 2018.
Another Gallup question asks about money and wealth redistribution more generally. As of 2016, well over half of Americans said that “money and wealth in this country should be distributed more evenly among more people.” Every time I asked the question going back to 1985, I got similar answers.
Many other polls have confirmed these basic findings. A significant majority of Americans support the concept of increasing taxes on the wealthy, and the exact percentage varies depending on how the concept is explained.
- A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released in February 2019 found that three-quarters of voters said the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes.
- According to Pew Research in September 2019, 60% of Americans believe the government should raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to address economic inequality in this country. I understand.
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll reported in January 2020 found that 64% agreed with the statement that “the ultra-wealthy should donate an additional percentage of their total wealth each year to support public programs.” It was shown that
- a new york times A poll conducted in November 2020 found that about two-thirds of respondents supported raising taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year.
- A July 2019 NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 62% think raising taxes on incomes over $1 million is a good idea.
- Biden's own campaign pollsters told the president in early 2021 that he was “loud and proud about raising taxes on the wealthy,” based on his survey in which a majority showed strong support for the idea. He advised them to talk.
- A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted in September 2021 found that 74% of Americans agreed that the wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes.
Although the specific percentages vary, the general results are very consistent, so money A headline from a few years ago proclaimed, with some exaggeration: “Every poll shows most Americans want the rich to pay higher taxes.” So the general, abstract idea of reducing the gap between the highest- and lowest-income roles clearly resonates with Americans' underlying attitudes.
Not clearly a high priority
More than 6 in 10 Americans are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth is distributed in the U.S. Almost three-quarters are concerned about this issue, and 46% say they are very concerned did.
But evidence that reducing inequality is a top priority for Americans is hard to find. Few Americans cite income and wealth inequality as the most important issue facing this country. Pew Research reviewed a 2019 poll and found that few Americans believe reducing economic inequality is a “top priority for the federal government.” And a 2018 Gallup poll found that income and wealth distribution was at the bottom of the president's and Congress' list of priorities.
conclusion
How to allocate valuable resources to all members of society is one of the most important challenges facing society. There is no social system that distributes resources equally. This leaves us with the unavoidable reality of 'inequality' where some people get more than others. Addressing this inequality has been one of society's most important challenges throughout history. And that remains true today.
Americans have grappled with inequality in a variety of ways throughout our nation's history. In particular, for more than a century the government has implemented a progressive tax system that collects a higher percentage of taxes from those with the highest incomes.
The American people as a whole approve of this progressive system. The majority of people want taxes to become more progressive. But today's political realities are unlikely to lead to an agreement on new taxes on the wealthy. Rank-and-file Republicans and Congressional leaders remain strongly opposed to the new tax. And, as evidenced by the soon-to-be-enacted new anti-inflation law, Democratic leaders ultimately decided to move forward without discussing or attempting to change the fundamentals of the individual tax system. Of course, we still don't know what will happen in the future.
