WASHINGTON — Despite President Donald Trump delivering on key tax-related campaign pledges through legislation passed last year, recent polling data shows most Americans continue to feel their tax burden is excessive.
A new Fox News survey reveals growing dissatisfaction with taxes compared to the previous year. The late March poll suggests Americans remain anxious about their financial situation amid rising inflation and slow economic growth. Additional surveys show frustration extends beyond individual tax bills, with many citizens believing wealthy individuals and corporations avoid paying appropriate amounts while government spending remains wasteful.
The polling follows Trump and Republican lawmakers enacting comprehensive tax and spending reduction legislation last year. The bill introduced various tax benefits, including an expanded child tax credit and new deductions for tips and overtime pay. While tax refunds have increased this filing season and many families are expected to benefit from the Republican tax measures, the Congressional Budget Office projects the wealthiest Americans will receive the most substantial advantages.
Republican leaders have highlighted the legislation as proof they’re reducing costs for working families. However, survey data indicates many Americans may not perceive these benefits, particularly as higher prices offset any tax refund increases.
The Fox News poll found approximately 7 in 10 registered voters consider their taxes “too high,” an increase from roughly 6 in 10 the previous year. The survey shows increased concern among very liberal voters and Democratic men, plus significant growth among groups Republicans hope to attract before midterm elections, including moderates, rural residents, and white voters without college degrees.
Tax dissatisfaction has grown steadily over recent years. March polling from Gallup discovered about 6 in 10 U.S. adults consider their federal income tax burden “too high,” a result that has remained consistent in the annual survey since 2023. This approaches unhappiness levels seen in Gallup polling from the 1980s through 1990s, prior to President George W. Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax reductions.
Currently, approximately half of Democrats and about 6 in 10 Republicans view their federal income taxes as excessive. While Republicans typically view their tax obligations more negatively than Democrats, Gallup data shows this difference often narrows during Republican presidencies.
A January Pew Research Center poll found most Americans are concerned that some wealthy individuals and corporations fail to pay appropriate tax amounts. About 6 in 10 Americans said each of these issues bothers them “a lot,” a figure that has remained relatively stable in recent years.
In contrast, only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in that survey said their personal tax payments bother them significantly.
The Pew study found about 8 in 10 Democrats are bothered “a lot” by perceptions that some corporations and wealthy people underpay taxes, compared to roughly 4 in 10 Republicans. Government spending concerns Republicans more, according to the Fox News poll, which discovered 75% of registered voters — and a similar percentage of Republican voters — consider “almost all” or “a great deal” of government funding wasteful and inefficient.
This highlights a perception challenge for many Americans. Even when their personal tax burden seems manageable, the belief that wealthy individuals underpay — or that government wastes their money — troubles many citizens. About half of Americans, 49%, in the Gallup survey say the income tax they’ll pay this year is “not fair,” matching the record high from 2023.
American tax frustration was climbing before Trump returned to the White House, but it remains problematic for the president’s party — particularly if citizens don’t experience the relief he promised.
The Fox News poll revealed about 6 in 10 registered voters, 64%, disapprove of Trump’s tax handling, up from 53% last April. Disapproval has increased most dramatically among independents, but also among Democrats and Republicans.
This corresponds with broader sentiment that Trump isn’t adequately addressing inflation. Most Americans said Trump had harmed the cost of living “a lot” or “a little” during his second term, according to a January AP-NORC poll. Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 6 in 10 independents said Trump has negatively impacted living costs.
Fewer than half of Republicans, 43%, said Trump had improved the cost of living, while 33% said he hadn’t made a difference and only 23% said he’d helped.
The Fox News poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters from March 20-23. The Gallup poll included 1,000 U.S. adults from March 2-18. The Pew Research Center poll surveyed 8,512 U.S. adults from Jan. 20-26. The AP-NORC Poll included 1,203 U.S. adults from Jan 8-11.
