2 in 3 Americans Now Say the Tax Code Is Unfair

One of President Trump’s key campaign differences when running against both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris was on tax policy. Whereas Biden and Harris supported adding over 80,000 armed IRS agents to enforce onerous tax collections, Trump has repeatedly proposed cutting taxes, including taxes on social security, tips and overtime, along with the possibility of eliminating federal income tax in its entirety. 

Reactions to these proposals were manifest in President Trump’s historic landslide electoral victory. The DOGE audits of USAID and other federal agencies unveiling the malfeasance and misappropriation of trillions of dollars is now fueling the justification behind President Trump’s proposals. However, this is also a vindication of sorts, since a 2024 poll showed that a majority of Americans already harbored suspicions about the high level of wasted tax dollars and unfairness in the current tax code.

Tax Unfairness – Perception and Reality

The Center for Federal Tax Policy conducted a poll in 2024 of 2.700 US taxpayers over age 18 from a wide range of occupations, political affiliations, racial backgrounds, and other varied demographics. The purpose of the poll was to quantify Americans’ level of tax literacy and their personal opinions regarding the tax code. Some of the responses showed a wide range of opinions and a surprisingly low average comprehension level of how the tax code works and how it is applied.

For example, it is a statistical fact that the top 1% wealthiest Americans pay over 40% of federal income taxes. However, NONE of the poll respondents answered correctly when asked this question, with their answers wildly underestimating that percentage: 

• Unsure replied 19% of federal tax
• 64% replied 12% of federal tax
• 12% replied 25% of federal tax
• 1% replied 22% of federal tax

Additionally, the poll found these opinions that support President Trump’s views:

• 65% thought the tax code was overly complex
• 86% felt there was a need for tax code reform
• 65% thought federal tax rates were too high
• 63% felt that the value of federal services is lower than what is taken in for taxes

The grossly inaccurate perception of who pays the bulk of federal taxes and the overall sense of unfairness likely stems from much of the mainstream media, and politicians who repeatedly have advocated raising taxes. Repeated mantras like, “The rich don’t pay their fair share.” or “Tax cuts are only for the rich.” are rooted in Marxist class warfare philosophy. The use of rhetorical class warfare to increase the coffers for politicians’ pork projects has long been a Washington staple. 

These politicians’ and media pundits’ angry reactions to the gargantuan amount of wasted tax dollars being uncovered by DOGE speak volumes to their potential complicity and motivations in perpetuating them. 

The complexity of taxes has historically been due to politicians creating carve-outs and loopholes for their political allies and wealthy supporters. One of the most recent notoriously blatant examples at the state level was when CA Gov. Gavin Newsom raised minimum wages to $20 at food service establishments but exempted large donor and political patron Panera on the excuse that Panera’s on-premises baking facilities put them in a different category. 

Proposed Solutions

President Trump has proposed the possibility of eliminating the IRS entirely and replacing it with a combination of consumption tax and tariffs, the latter a way of changing the “internal” revenue service to an “external” one. 

From a fairness perspective, the consumption tax, akin to Value Added Tax (VAT) as used in Canada and in Europe, has its merits. The consumption tax, which would exclude food, medicine, and used items, is more fairly assessed since only wealthier people purchase the more expensive goods that would generate the larger tax revenues. This also rebuts accusations that the tax cut would “only benefit the rich.” 

President Trump has already deployed the tariff to good effect as a foreign policy tool to strengthen border security and to deport illegal alien gang members. While pundits and academics have almost unanimously claimed that tariffs will raise inflation rates and trigger a recession, they fail to consider the corporate tax cuts and cutting of onerous regulations from the Biden Administration that were shackling the business sector. So far, inflation has dropped precipitously since February, and massive equity inflows ($34 billion) into the market over the past week, as reported by Bank of America, would indicate that the investing public doesn’t think a recession is on the horizon either. 

The revelations being uncovered by DOGE on tax dollar abuse by Congress and President Trump’s policies designed to let Americans keep more of their hard earned income are a big contributing factor to his high approval ratings.

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