More Still Disapprove Than Approve of 2017 Tax Cuts.
Byline: Megan Brenan
Synopsis: More Americans disapprove than approve of the 2017 tax overhaul, and nearly two-thirds say they haven't seen an increase in their take-home pay.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With the midterm elections less than a month away and Republicans fighting to retain control of both houses of Congress, more Americans continue to disapprove than approve of last year's sweeping tax overhaul bill signed into law by President Donald Trump, 46% to 39%. Americans' approval of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included tax cuts for individuals and businesses, is unchanged from the previous reading seven months ago but is slightly higher than measures prior to and immediately after its passage.
Gallup first measured Americans' views of the tax bill in early December 2017, before Congress passed it. The current poll, from Sept. 24-30, marks the third Gallup reading on approval of the law since it passed. In January 2018, just after the bill became a law, 33% approved and 55% disapproved. The 39% approval in late February/early March and in the current survey is the highest to date.
Given that the GOP-sponsored tax bill passed without a single Democratic vote in either chamber of Congress, it is unsurprising that Americans' views of it are similarly divided along party lines. Democrats' approval of the law is 8%, and Republicans' is 76%. Independents' approval stands at 34%.
Trump and Republican lawmakers touted the overhaul as tax relief that would benefit everyone, particularly the middle class -- yet, 51% of Americans say the law has not helped their family's financial situation, while 38% say it has helped "a little" (26%) or "a lot" (12%).
Reflecting their overall positive views of the tax cut law, two-thirds of Republicans say the law has helped their family's financial situation a lot (24%) or a little (42%). By contrast, only 3% of Democrats say it has helped a lot, with another 12% saying it has helped a little. Independents are more likely to say the tax cuts have not helped (53%) than to say they have (35%).
Upper-income Americans are most likely to say the law has helped their family's finances. Forty-seven percent of those with an annual household income of $90,000 or more say the law has helped at least a little, compared with 36% of middle-income Americans and 28% of lower-income Americans.
Although many of the changes to the tax code took effect in January 2018, they didn't affect the 2017 taxes filed by Americans in...
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