Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters say President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on those who earn more than $250,000 a year would be good for the economy, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty-one percent (31%) say raising taxes on the wealthy would be a bad economic move, while 12% say it would have no impact. Five percent (5%) are not sure.

At the same time, a majority of voters continue to believe tax increases in general are bad for the economy and tax cuts are better.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Democrats think the proposed tax hike is good for the economy, but 55% of Republicans disagree. Voters not affiliated with either party are evenly divided over the economic wisdom of the move.

Investors are slightly less excited about the idea. Forty-six percent (46%) think a tax hike on those earning over $250,000 would be good for the economy, compared to 60% of non-investors. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of investors and 21% of non-investors don’t agree.

The Rasmussen Investor Index, after three days of record lows, rallied slightly on Thursday.

Thirty percent (30%) of voters now expect their personal taxes to go up under the Obama Administration. Just 18% think their taxes will be cut, while 38% say they will remain the same. The number expecting a tax cut is down three points from a month ago.

Fifty-six percent (56%) say tax cuts help the economy, while 16% say they hurt and 18% say they have no impact. Ten percent (10%) are undecided.

Conversely, 47% think tax increases hurt the economy, but 24% say they help. Sixteen percent (16%) say they have no economic impact, and 13% are not sure.

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In the budget he releases today, Obama is expected to propose letting Bush Administration tax cuts expire next year, thereby raising taxes on those earning over $250,000 annually, and also to limit deductions that wealthier Americans can take. Republicans generally have opposed raising taxes including those on the wealthy, the ones they say who invest, create businesses and create jobs.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows the beginning of a bounce in approval for Obama following his nationally televised speech Tuesday night.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of Republicans and 32% of unaffiliated voters expect a tax hike under Obama versus 14% of Democrats. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Democratic voters think their taxes will be cut, compared to 10% of unaffiliateds and nine percent (9%) of Republicans.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of investors say their taxes will increase, compared to 18% of non-investors. Thirteen percent (13%) of investors and 26% of non-investors say they will get a tax cut.

In October of last year, 47% of voters said candidate Obama’s plan to raise taxes on those who earn over $250,000 a year was good for the economy, but 51% still believed that lower taxes were the best way to spur economic growth. Obama also campaigned on giving tax cuts to 95% of Americans, and voters in survey after survey have said tax cuts are better for the economy than more government spending.

Again, voters send a mixed message since 40% say they would vote for a candidate who promised to oppose all tax increases, but 44% say they’d favor a candidate who raised taxes only on the rich.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters favor a policy that helps the economy grow, while 38% prefer a policy that makes everyone pay their fair share. A majority of Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters concur.

However, while 69% of Republicans and 59% of unaffiliated voters say tax cuts help the economy, only 43% of Democrats agree.

Seventy percent (70%) of GOP voters and 54% of unaffiliateds say tax increases hurt the economy, a view shared by only 22% of Democrats. The plurality of Democrats (40%) say tax increases are good for the economy.

A majority of investors favor tax cuts and oppose tax increases.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters say they pay more than their fair share in taxes. Twenty-nine percent (29%) disagree, and 23% aren’t sure.

Americans also tend to believe they pay a higher share of their income in taxes than people in other income brackets. But 33% have already filed their taxes for this year even though they’re not due until April 15.

The majority of Americans don’t think most members of Congress pay all the taxes they owe, though.

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