Bipartisan Consensus: Taxes Are Too High

Publication Date: 05/15/2026 9:45 AM CST

Bipartisan Consensus: Taxes Are Too High

Publication: 05/15/2026 9:45 AM CST

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Nearly 9 in 10 voters (85%) say taxes in America are too high, including 49% who say they are Much Too High.
- This is up 10 points from the 75% who said the same in May 2023.
- Just 7% say they are too low, and 6% say taxes in America are about right.
- Democrats and Republicans alike largely agree.
Almost half (47%) say they pay between 10% and 25% of their income in taxes to all levels of government (federal, state, and local).
- One quarter (25%) say they pay between 25% and 50% of their income.
- Only 9% say they pay less than 10% in taxes, while just 4% say they pay more than 50%.
- Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.
Two-thirds (67%) favor a proposal that no American should pay more than 50% of his or her income in federal, state, and local taxes combined.
- About a quarter (23%) disagree with that proposal.
- Again, Democrats and Republicans agree on this proposal.
- A large majority (80%) of self-employed voters agree.
Among the voters who favor the 50% tax-limit proposal, 85% say they would favor a proposal that no American should pay a total of more than 40% of his or her income in all taxes combined.
- Just 14% disagree with that proposal.
Voters are evenly split on their tax burden: 45% believe they pay their fair share, while another 45% feel they pay too much.
- Only 4% say they pay less than their fair share.
- Voter sentiment was similar in April 2024, but views have fluctuated.
- In April 2025, just 36% said they paid more than their fair share
- In May 2023, 34% said the same.
- More Republicans (49%) than Democrats (41%) say they pay more than their fair share in taxes.
- A majority (60%) of voters who talk politics every or nearly every day say they pay more than their fair share.
When thinking about someone who earns twice as much as them, a plurality (41%) of voters says that person pays less than twice as much as they pay.
- Twenty percent (20%) believe that person pays twice as much as them in taxes.
- Just 17% say that person pays more than twice as much in taxes.
- About 1 in 5 (22%) are not sure how much someone who makes double their income pays in taxes.
- In this situation, 51% of Democrats say the person making twice as much pays less than twice as much. Only 29% of Republicans agree.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, May 13-14, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.