3 in 5 Americans think Trump's tax plan mostly benefits the rich, including 1 in 5 Trump supporters

Americans think Trump tax plan would benefit the wealthy
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CBS News)

President Trump is promoting the emerging Republican tax plan as a big tax cut for the middle class that won't benefit wealthy people like himself, but according to a new poll for CBS News, people aren't buying the pitch. In the poll, 58 percent of respondents said the tax plan favors the wealthy, 18 percent said it favors the middle class, 5 percent pick the poor as primary beneficiaries, and 19 percent said it benefited everyone about equally. Even among Trump's most dedicated supporters, 19 percent said Trump's plan favors the rich and 35 percent said it favors the middle class. Trump himself was angry to learn recently that parts of his plan would raise taxes on the middle class, Bloomberg reports.

There was broader agreement that the U.S. economic system favors the wealthy — 73 percent overall, including 51 percent of Trump's most ardent supporters and 58 percent of self-described conservatives. And there was little appetite for deficit-busting tax cuts, as the GOP is considering: Only 21 percent supported tax cuts that raise the deficit, including 35 percent of top Trump supporters and Republicans; 39 percent favored cutting the deficit even if it means taxes stay the same; and 40 percent said neither tax cuts nor deficit reduction should be a priority.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.