60% of Americans Say Their Federal Income Tax Is Too High

Most Americans say their tax bill is too high and few think the tax code is fair, according to a poll from Gallup.

Six in 10 Americans say the amount of federal income tax they pay is “too high.” That’s the highest percentage since 2001.

Forty-six percent believe the income tax they pay is fair, more or less tying 1999’s 45 percent as the lowest in Gallup’s trend. A new high of 51 percent say their income taxes are not fair.

Complaints about federal income taxes are rising. The share who say the amount they pay is too high jumpedsix percentage points from a year ago and is 15 points from the recent low measured in 2018 and 2019.

Just 36 percent of Americans say their federal income tax payments are “about right.” Three percent say the taxes they pay are “too low.”

Since 2020, the share of lower-income Americans saying their taxes are too high has jumped nine points to 50 percent. Among middle-income Americans, there has been an eight-point increase to 58 percent. Among Americans making $100,000 or more, there has been an 18-point jump to 66 percent.

Democrats are far less likely than other Americans to think they pay too much in taxes.  In 2020, 40 percent of Democrats said their taxes were too high. That number edged up to 41 percent in the most recent poll.

Among independents, the share saying they pay too much in taxes has climbed 14 points to 62 percent. Among Republicans, the share saying they pay too much in taxes has jumped to 71 percent from 46 percent in the final year of Donald Trump’s presidency.