Ahead of Tax Day, two-thirds of Americans polled believe corporations pay too little

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     Dressed as the 'Real Chicken Don'Shawn Frye joins others in calling for President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, Wednesday, April 12, 2017, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Tax March Sacramento activists are planning to join others in a protest on Tax Day, April 15 calling on the the president to release his tax returns. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

    Dressed as the 'Real Chicken Don'Shawn Frye joins others in calling for President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, Wednesday, April 12, 2017, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Tax March Sacramento activists are planning to join others in a protest on Tax Day, April 15 calling on the the president to release his tax returns. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

    NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller sits down for his weekly conversation with Gallup’s Frank Newport to talk about trends in U.S. opinion.

    Are Americans in the mood to revolt over their taxes? Not necessarily. Sixty one percent of U.S. adults regard the income tax they have to pay as fair, the most positive sentiment since 2009. A year ago, 50 percent held this view.

    Six in 10 do say that “upper-income people” pay too little in taxes. This is a very common sentiment over the years. In the early 1990s, interestingly, 77 percent thought that the upper income people paid too little.

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    Half of Americans say that middle-income people pay too much.

    President Donald Trump has also said he will lower corporate taxes. Is it fair to assume Americans are against that? Yes. Two thirds say corporations pay too little in taxes, and this hasn’t changed a lot over the years.

    More generally, how comfortable are Americans with the amount of money they have right now?

    This is a matter of interpretation. Most — 70 percent — of Americans say that they have enough money to live comfortably “right now.” But that leaves three in 10 who say that they do not. Plus, about four in 10 say that they would not be able right now to make a major purchase, such as a car, appliance, or furniture, or pay for a significant home repair if needed. So there is a sizable segment of Americans who are living on the edge.

    One of the big findings with this year is the fact that fewer of us “older” people have any advice at all for young people. Being a doctor or going into technology/computers are the leading bits of advice given, but a lot of people now say they don’t know what to advise, or say “follow your passion.”

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