An Overwhelming Majority of Americans Think Taxes Are Too High

A new poll shows that the overwhelming majority of Americans think federal taxes are too high.  A record 70% of voters now think that the taxes they pay are too high, the highest level since the question was first asked two decades ago.

Large numbers of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are fed up with high taxes for one simple reason—-taxes are in fact too high.  Total federal revenues have doubled since 2012.  Individual income taxes are up more than 100%.  Corporate taxes are up nearly as much.

The Republican tax cuts, which every Democrat in the House and Senate voted against, prevented a $4 trillion tax increase and extended a number of pro-growth tax policies.  But much more needs to be done.  Federal taxes are forecast to soar in the coming years, which will spur more spending, and enable more borrowing and debt.

According to the CBO, individual income taxes have already increased $100 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year compared to the same period last year.  Over the next ten years, total annual federal taxes are projected to increase 60%, from $5 trillion a year to more than $8 trillion a year.  Individual income taxes are expected to increase 62%, while corporate taxes, which have risen 120% since 2018, are projected to increase every year. 

Personal income taxes have averaged 8.0% of GDP for the past 50 years.  But they are projected to average 8.9% over the next ten years, rising to above 9%, a level reached only a handful of times since the income tax began in 1913. The higher revenue, as much as $3.5 trillion, will come as millions of taxpayers are pushed into higher tax brackets, where their income is taxed at a higher rate.

This stealth tax increase will fall on the most productive sectors of the economy, including two-income working families, millions of small businesses, and countless investors and entrepreneurs trying to start the next great business.  It will drain away trillions of dollars from the private economy that could be used to create more wealth and grow the economy.

But despite the growing tax  burden, too many people in Washington want to increase taxes even more.  They want to fund needed programs, or be fiscally responsible.  But their new tax increases would hurt the economy or lead to bigger government.  The higher taxes from any tax increase would just fuel new spending and bigger deficits, leading to more borrowing and more debt.

The American people know their taxes are too high.  It is time to turn off the tax spigot and reduce the amount of taxes Americans are sending to Washington to spend.