50% Say Tax Cuts Help the Economy

Voters continue to believe tax cuts and decreases in government spending will benefit the nation’s economy. 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of Likely Voters say, generally speaking, tax cuts help the economy, although that’s the lowest level measured in nearly three years of monthly tracking.  Twenty-two percent (22%) think tax cuts hurt economic conditions in the country, while another 17% say they have no impact.  Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Consistent with past findings, 49% of voters say, generally speaking, decreases in government spending help the economy.  Twenty-six percent (26%) say decreases in such spending hurt the economy, while 14% say they have no impact.

Thirty-five percent (35%) of voters feel that under the Obama administration their own personal taxes will go up, a figure that has ranged from 29% to 47% since November 2008.  Only 14% believe their personal taxes will go down under President Obama, while 41% say they’ll stay the same.

Most voters have consistently said for years that tax cuts are good for the economy, but new surveying finds that voters underestimate the public support for that position. 

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 24-25, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.