Poll Shows Americans Dubious Over Bush Tax Cuts

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

04 April 2002

The results of an Associated Press poll released in the United States this week have revealed that the vast majority of US citizens have doubts over who has benefited from the Bush administration's tax cutting program.

Four in five of those questioned between March 22 and March 26 told the AP that they believed that the tax cuts benefit other income or interest groups than their own, a leap from the 61% who said in a September 2000 survey that they felt that way about targeted tax cuts.

The poll showed that more than half of those questioned believe that their taxes will not be reduced as a result of Congressional tax cuts, compared to around a third of respondents in a similar survey conducted last year.

The Associated Press revealed that a greater number of the Republicans surveyed (around half) believed that their taxes were likely to go down, and that the tax cuts were targeted at them, whereas only a third of Democrats, and one in four independents felt that way.

However, the emphasis, among taxpayers of nearly all political stripes, is on a balanced budget, rather than tax cuts, with three-quarters of voters expressing their support for Congressional candidates whose priority is the former.

'As the baby boomers get toward their older years, Social Security and Medicare are going to become more important,' one respondent told the AP.

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