How Americans Really Feel About Taxes

68% of voters believe corporations pay too little tax, and 64% of voters believe upper-income people pay too little tax. When it comes to middle-income and lower-income taxpayers, that sentiment disappears. A little over half of voters surveyed believe that middle-income and lower-income people pay too much tax (55% and 54%, respectively). And roughly a quarter believe middle-income and lower-income people pay their fair share (27% and 24%).

A majority (57%) of voters think the amount they have to pay in income tax is too high, compared to just under a third (30%) who say that it is about right. A negligible number of people say that their federal income tax rate is too low. Importantly, these opinions are stable across partisan lines. Middle-aged voters, aged 50-64, are more likely (69%) than their younger (45%) or older (57%) counterparts to say that their tax burden is too high.

By a margin of net -53, the overwhelming majority of voters do not trust the government to make good spending decisions with their tax dollars. A similar number of voters do not believe the tax system is fair (net -50) and do not know where their tax dollars go (net -50). And by a margin of net +23, voters believe paying taxes feels like a punishment. Paradoxically, by a margin of net +43, voters believe paying taxes is part of being a good citizen.

Overall, voters want more fairness and transparency in the tax system. 58% of all voters would feel better about paying taxes if they knew everyone was paying their fair share, including majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Similarly, 57% of voters would feel better about paying taxes if they knew where their money was being spent; this result was driven primarily by Independents (61%) and Republicans (59%), while Democrats supported it by 50%. A smaller percentage of voters (41%) said paying less would make them feel better about paying taxes, including 38% of Democrats, 45% of Independents, and 41% of Republicans. Knowing taxes went to preferred programs received the lowest support (33%), and the responses were roughly equal among Democrats (31%), Independents (30%), and Republicans (35%).

Methodology

The Searchlight Institute and Tavern Research conducted an online survey of 1,531 likely 2026 voters from March 16-18, 2026. The results were weighted by gender, race, education, age, and 2024 presidential vote choice. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 4.1% and is higher for subgroups.