Surveys show Americans are in favor of raising taxes on (other) rich people

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, as much as two-thirds of respondents support the idea that the rich should pay more taxes compared to the rest of the population.

Among the 4,441 respondents to the poll, 64% strongly or somewhat agreed that “the very rich should contribute an extra share of their total wealth each year to support public programs” – the essence of a wealth tax. Results were similar across gender, race and household income. While support among Democrats was stronger, at 77%, a majority of Republicans, 53%, also agreed with the idea.

This is similar to the results found by several other polls conducted in 2019 whereby a majority of people supported raising taxes on the ultra wealthy. In a Hill-HarrisX survey, majority of respondents were in favor of raising the top tax rate to as much as 70%. And about 58% of respondents from pew research survey believed taxes should be raised on all incomes above $250,000.

People only like higher taxes when other people are paying

Generally support has grown among the rich for a tax on wealth. But a CNBC poll found that millionaires support a wealth tax, so long as it doesn’t affect them.

according to the poll:

A majority of millionaires support a wealth tax on those worth $50 million or more, but their support declines for a tax on those worth $10 million.

Forty-eight percent opposed a wealth tax on those worth over $10 million.

Regarding their tax burden

most millionaires feel like they pay enough already. Fully 60% feel they pay their fair share of taxes, and a third believe they pay more than their fair share.

George Walper, president of Spectrem Group, states

Most people who are worth $10 million or less don’t feel wealthy, even though they are relative to the population. And so they feel they should not be penalized. But they do think that people worth $50 million or more are wealthy and should pay more.

As it turns out, people only like higher taxes when they don’t have to pay them.