Muristek
Most Californians believe the federal and state income taxes they have to pay each year are too high, a new poll showed.
The timely survey from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found about 64% of voters said their federal and state taxes were too high. This is a 10-point increase from a response to the same question posed to voters in a survey six years ago, according to the report.
“The findings indicate that many Californians are feeling pinched in today’s economy,” Cristina Mora, the IGS co-director, said in a statement. “While the pandemic brought gains for a few, a much larger percentage of Californians have borne an economic burden during this same time period.”
The poll found twice as many voters described themselves as being financially worse off than they were a year ago (42%) compared to those who said they were better off (21%). A survey six years ago found the opposite was true.
The survey found 30% of those polled believed their financial prospects for the coming year will be worse, 49% of voters expected no change and 21% believed their financial prospects will be better.
Republican and conservative voters were most likely to believe federal and state income taxes are too high, according to the poll report.
Monday was the deadline to file and pay for most individual income taxes. The April 15 deadline was extended this year due to the Good Friday and Passover holidays.
The poll was conducted online in both English and Spanish from March 29-April 5. It surveyed 8,676 registered voters in California with a sampling error of about +/- 2 percentage points.
The questions were:
— Would you say that you and your family are financially better off or worse off than you were a year ago?
— Looking ahead, do you think that a year from now you and your family will be better off financially, worse off, or remain about the same as now?
— Do you feel the amount of federal and state income taxes that you and your family have to pay is too high, too low, or about right?
IGS is the oldest organized research unit within the University of California system.
Those interested can find more about the survey’s results at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7ng7b6qj. email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
The post Federal, state taxes too high, most Californians believe appeared first on Santa Barbara News-Press.