Voters Underestimate Support for Tax Cuts As Economic Boost

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.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters think most Americans believe tax cuts are good for the economy. However, data released over several years consistently finds that about 55% of Likely Voters believe tax cuts help the economy. Despite the majority support for this view, 46% of voters say it’s held mostly by conservatives. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Interestingly, Democrats believe a bit more strongly than Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party that most Americans share the view that tax cuts are good for the economy. Most GOP voters and the majority of unaffiliateds think the belief in tax cuts is held mostly by conservatives.

A plurality (41%) of political moderates think the view that tax cuts are good for the economy is shared by most Americans, but just 24% of conservatives and 18% of liberals believe that to be true.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on March 18-19, 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.