Poll: Less than half of Americans think their taxes are too high

Less than half of Americans think their federal income taxes are too high, according to a new Gallup poll, with Republicans more positive about their taxes since President Trump took office.

Forty-five percent of those surveyed said their taxes are too high, the lowest level since 2012, while 48 percent said their taxes are about right. Last year, Gallup found that 51 percent said their taxes were too high.

The change in sentiment about taxes is driven by shifting opinions among Republicans. Forty-five percent of Republicans said their taxes are too high in the new survey, compared to 62 percent who said so last year and 72 percent who said so in 2016. The percentage of independents and Democrats who think their taxes are too high did not differ significantly from last year.

The survey results come after Trump signed a new tax-cut bill into law in December. The tax returns Americans file this year will be the last returns they file under the old tax code.{mosads}

In January, the IRS released guidance to update tax withholding tables to reflect the new tax law, which was expected to result in most wage earners receiving an increase in their after-tax income. The IRS instructed employers to start using the new tables by Feb. 15.

Gallup’s poll found no change in the level of support for the new tax law since they last asked about the measure during the period from Feb. 26 to March 4. In both surveys, 39 percent of Americans said they approve of the law.

The majority of Americans, 56 percent, said they are unsure if the new law has caused their federal taxes to increase or decrease. Nine percent said the law has caused their taxes to go up, 18 percent said it has caused their taxes to go down and 17 percent said it has caused their taxes to stay about the same.

“With a majority of all Americans viewing the new tax law unfavorably, the lack of their awareness about whether their own taxes have decreased under the new law may be a good thing for the president,” Gallup’s Lydia Saad wrote in an analysis of the poll. “It means there is still an opportunity for Trump and his party to benefit should taxpayers ultimately determine their tax bill has gone down.”

Gallup surveyed 1,015 adults by telephone from April 2 to April 11. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.