Do voters trust Democrats or Republicans more to handle taxes? What a new poll found

Americans trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party when it comes to tax policy, according to new polling.

In the latest Navigator Research poll, 46% of respondents said they trusted Democrats more to handle taxes generally, while 42% said they trusted the GOP more. Twelve percent said they didn’t know.

A majority of Democrats and Republicans said they trusted their own party more to handle taxes generally, while independents sided with the Republican Party by a 12-point margin.

Democrats had a larger advantage when it came to taxes on specific groups, according to Navigator Research, which is a progressive research organization.

When asked which party they had more confidence in to decide tax rates on the middle class, 49% of respondents said the Democratic Party, while 37% said the Republican Party, marking a 12-point difference. Fourteen percent said they didn’t know.

The same share of respondents, 49%, also said they had more trust in the Democratic Party to decide tax rates for multimillionaires. Thirty-six percent said they had more confidence in the GOP, and 15% said they didn’t know.

On deciding tax rates for the middle class and multimillionaires, independents said they trusted Democrats more by a 3-point and 10-point margin, respectively. Majorities of Republicans and Democrats said they trusted their own party more.

Democrats also held a narrow advantage on handling the cost of living — 46% versus 43%.

In contrast, voters were about evenly split when it came to which party they had confidence in to oversee jobs and the economy. Forty-five percent said they trusted Democrats more, and 44% said they trusted Republicans more.

Conducted between Sept. 12 and 16, the poll sampled 1,003 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

The poll also found stark differences when it comes to which groups Americans believe benefit from Democratic and Republican tax policies.

The majority of respondents, 56%, said that Democratic tax policies advantage working people and the middle class. Twenty-nine percent said they favor the wealthy and corporations, and 15% said they favor the poor.

On the other hand, the majority of respondents, 62%, said Republican tax policies benefit the wealthy and corporations. Thirty-four percent said they favor working people and the middle class, and 4% said they favor the poor.

Additionally, a majority of respondents, 67%, said they believe the middle and working class are paying more in taxes than they used to. Twenty-seven percent said they believe they’re paying about the same, and 6% said they’re paying less.

In contrast, 60% of respondents said they believe the wealthy and corporations are paying less in taxes than they used to, while 29% said they’re paying about the same, and 10% said they’re paying more.

This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Do voters trust Democrats or Republicans more to handle taxes? What a new poll found."