With Congress considering legislation that would extend the tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration, a majority of Americans continue to say taxes should be increased, not decreased, for large businesses and corporations. They also say this for household income over $400,000 a year.
More than six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised. This includes 34% who say they should be raised a lot. Another 19% say large businesses’ tax rates should be lowered, while 17% say they should be kept the same as they are now.
About six-in-ten (58%) say tax rates on household income over $400,000 should be raised, including 23% who say these tax rates should be raised a lot. Much smaller shares say taxes on higher-income households should be lowered (19%) or kept the same (21%).
As has been the case in recent years, views differ substantially by party. Democrats are overwhelmingly supportive of raising taxes on these groups, while Republicans are more divided.
- 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support raising taxes on large businesses and corporations. Nearly as many (74%) say taxes should be raised on household income over $400,000.
- By contrast, 43% of Republicans and Republican leaners say taxes on each group should be raised, while roughly three-in-ten say taxes for these groups should be lowered.
There are also ideological differences within each party:
- At least half of moderate and liberal Republicans favor raising taxes on large businesses and corporations (58%) and household income over $400,000 (53%), compared with about a third each among conservative Republicans.
- Large majorities of liberal Democrats say tax rates should be raised for large businesses (90%) and higher-income households (83%). Smaller majorities of conservative and moderate Democrats say the same (76% favor raising taxes for large corporations, 67% for higher-income households).
Views by income level
Overall, Americans across income levels have similar views on increasing tax rates for large corporations and higher-income households. But there are differences within partisan groups. Upper-income Republicans are less likely than lower-income Republicans to say taxes on these groups should be raised; upper-income Democrats are more likely than lower-income Democrats to say this.
As a result, the partisan gaps on these questions are far wider among upper-income people than among lower-income people.
- 91% of upper-income Democrats say tax rates on large businesses should be raised, and 80% say rates should be raised on household income over $400,000. By contrast, about a third of upper-income Republicans say the same for each group.
- 72% of lower-income Democrats and 51% of lower-income Republicans say taxes on large businesses should be increased. The gap is even smaller when it comes to taxing household income over $400,000 (61% vs. 48%).
Trends in partisan views
Americans’ views on tax rates for large businesses and higher-income households have changed only modestly in recent years. U.S. adults are slightly less likely to say these taxes should be raised – and slightly more likely to say they should be lowered – than they were a few years ago.
This is largely attributable to Republicans becoming more likely to voice support for lower tax rates.
About a third of Republicans (32%) now say tax rates for large businesses and corporations should be lowered. This is up 9 percentage points from April 2023 and 13 points from September 2021.
About three-in-ten Republicans (27%) say taxes for household incomes over $400,000 should be lowered, up 10 points from 2021.
Democrats’ views on these questions are largely unchanged over this period.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.
