The majority of voters nationwide (62%) believe individuals should pay Social Security taxes on most or all of their incomes. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 25% of voters disagree.

Barack Obama has said he plans to raise the cap on the tax because “we have to capture some revenue in order to stabilize the Social Security system.” While three out of four Democrats (76%) say that individuals should pay the tax on most or all of their income, under half of Republicans (46%) agree. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of unaffiliated voters say the same.

Each year the average employee pays Social Security withholding tax equal to 6.2% of his or her gross wages, up to but not exceeding $102,000. The same 6.2% tax is imposed on employers. As part of his plan for shoring up Social Security, Obama is proposing that the 6.2% tax be imposed on wages of $250,000 and above but not on earnings between $102,000 and $250,000.

Voters with lower incomes are more in favor than those with higher incomes of requiring taxes on most or all of income. While 79% of voters who earn less than $20,000 per year favor this idea, just 51% of those who make between $60,000 and $80,000 annually agree. Just 46% of voters who make over $100,000 a year think that most or all their income should be taxed.

The same survey found that the majority of voters (62%) also believe that individuals who pay more into Social Security should receive more benefits. That number remains virtually unchanged along all party lines and incomes. Nearly a quarter (24%) disagree.

Voters are not very confident in the Social Security system to pay all promised retirement benefits during their lifetimes. While 44% say they are at least somewhat confident in the system, 53% say they are not. Not surprisingly, older voters are much more confident than younger voters. While 84% of senior citizens say they are confident in the system, just 20% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 agree.

One of the hottest political debates of the Bush presidency was over Republican efforts to allow taxpayers to put money into private retirement accounts instead of Social Security. A plurality of voters (45%) say individuals should be able to opt out of Social Security, while nearly an equal percentage of 41% disagree. This time, younger voters are much more in favor than older voters. While 70% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 think people should be able to choose whether to participate in the system, just 27% of adults over 65 agree.

In July, a separate Rasmussen tracking survey found that Social Security is a very important electoral issue for 59% of voters. The survey also found that Democrats are more trusted on the issue by an 11-percentage point margin.

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