What Percentage Of Americans Think The Income Tax They Pay Is Fair?

With House Republicans continuing to debate a green light to extending the 2017 tax cuts, Americans are anticipating the impact that an extension – or not – would have on their finances.

But whatever lawmakers decide and how taxpayers view that decision, a recent survey reveals a declining share of people nationwide think that the federal income taxes they pay are fair.

The Gallup poll found that 50% of respondents do not think the tax they pay is fair, while 46% say it is. Those who think it is fair are in the smallest share since 1999 when 45% said this.

The peak ‘fair’ score was during World War II when up to 90% of Americans said this of the income taxes they had to pay, but in recent times (since Gallup reintroduced the question in 1997) the peak was in 2003 (64%) but this then trended lower (to 50% in 2016) until 2017 (61%), when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was introduced. It started trending lower again in 2019.

Whether the federal income taxes paid are fair or not, the survey also asked about the amount of tax being paid. In this regard, 59% of respondents say they pay too much, 39% say it’s about right, and 2% say they don’t pay enough.

Poll participants are also unhappy with the amount of tax that lower income people pay. While last year 50% felt those on lower incomes pay too much federal income tax, this increased to 58% this year with just 30% saying this cohort pays about the right amount while 10% think they should pay more.

More than half (54%) of respondents said that middle income earners pay too much, 40% think it’s about right, and 5% think it's too low.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, opinion flips when it comes to upper income earners with just 12% saying they pay too much tax, 28% saying it’s about right, and 58% think it’s not enough (although in the early 1990s this was 77%).

Corporations are also considered to pay too little tax (70% said so) with just 21% saying they pay their fair share, and 7% saying they pay too much.