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Most Americans Think the Wealthy Don’t Pay ‘Fair Share’ of Taxes, Poll Says

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Americans’ chief complaint about the federal tax system is the feeling that some corporations and wealthy individuals are not paying their fair share of taxes, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Pew Research Center poll conducted in late February found that 64% of Americans are bothered “a lot” by “the feeling that corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes.” Sixty-seven percent said the same of wealthy individuals.

The poll, which comes before the April 15 tax deadline, showed a widening partisan gap in how Americans view the tax system. Fifty percent of Republicans surveyed felt they were paying more than their fair share of taxes, compared with 30% of Democrats. These percentages were far closer together in the 2011 survey: then, 37% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats felt they were paying more than their fair share.

Overall, 59% of Americans think Congress needs to “completely change” the federal tax system, with 66% of Republicans, compared to 48% of Democrats.

The poll of 1,504 adults, conducted February 18-22, has a margin of error of 2.9%.

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Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.Rogers@time.com