Questions - National Sales Tax - January 22-23, 2013

National Survey of 1,000 Adults
Conducted January 22-23, 2013
By Rasmussen Reports

1* A national sales tax on all goods and services is one way for the government to raise more money. Do you favor or oppose a national sales tax?

2* Suppose that money raised from a national sales tax was used to reduce the federal deficit. Would you favor or oppose creation of a national sales tax to reduce the federal deficit?

3* If Congress and the president establish a national sales tax to reduce the federal deficit, are they likely to use the new tax money for deficit reduction or would they spend it on new government programs?

4* Suppose you had a choice between keeping Social Security unchanged by adding a national sales tax or trimming future Social Security benefits and not adding a national sales tax. Which would you prefer?

5* Suppose you had a choice between maintaining the military budget by adding a national sales tax or cutting military spending and not adding a national sales tax. Which would you prefer?

6* Which is a better way to raise more revenue to pay for the government…the creation of a national sales tax or raising the income tax rates for all Americans?

7* Some policymakers say a national sales tax would make it possible to cut income tax rates. If a national sales tax is created, how likely is it that the government would actually reduce income tax rates?

8* What if a national sales tax was used to eliminate the need for a federal income tax? Would you favor or oppose a proposal to eliminate the federal income tax and replace it with a national sales tax?

9* Is it possible to balance the federal budget without raising taxes?

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence