Most Americans think tax distribution unfair

 

Survey by Money Magazine and ICR shows Democrats and Independents show highest levels of discontent with current system.

October 6 2006: 12:36 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- A large majority of Americans believe that the distribution of taxes is unfair, according to a new survey.

According to a recent survey by Money Magazine and market research firm ICR, 74 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that "the amount of federal taxes paid by Americans is distributed appropriately across individuals of all income levels."

And the issue splits along party lines - far more Democrats (85 percent) and Independents (73 percent) disagree with that statement than Republicans (60 percent).

Republicans (28 percent) are most likely to agree that federal taxes are appropriately distributed across all income levels. Results are comparable for Americans with household incomes of $75,000 or higher and those with lesser incomes.

When asked how their financial standing today compares with the way it was two years ago, the greatest number (39 percent) said it has remained the same. The rest were split, with 31 percent saying they feel better off, and 29 percent saying they feel worse off than they were in 2004.

Men are more likely to say they're better off now than two years ago (38 percent vs. 25 percent of women). More women report remaining steady, financially speaking, since 2004 (44 percent vs. 34 percent men). Democrats (35 percent) were more likely than Republicans (21 percent) to say they feel worse financially than two years ago.

The Money/ICR poll was conducted by telephone with a nationally representative sample of 1,015 Americans between September 13th - 17th, 2006. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.