Survey Claims Tax Cuts Support Has Waned
Poll: Support for tax cuts has dropped significantly
by Gene Perry, OPI
A new poll shows that over the last year, support for cutting Oklahoma’s personal income tax has dropped significantly among voters statewide, and less than half now support the plan to reduce the state’s top rate. Support drops even further when voters learn of the disparity in the size of the cuts across income groups. Very large majorities oppose cutting funding for state services such as education, public safety, and health care to pay for tax cuts.
The results are similar to polls done in 2012 and 2013, and they show a growing disconnect between elected officials and Oklahoma voters on this issue. The more voters learn about the tax cut proposals, the less popular they become.
Less than half of all voters now support the proposal to reduce Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate (46% support/31% oppose). This 15 point margin in favor of the plan is dramatically smaller than the net 27 point margin in an April 2013 survey (52% support/25% oppose).
2014-poll-distributionOpposition to the plan doubles once voters learn that over 40 percent of Oklahomans will not receive a tax cut at all, the average reduction for middle-income families would be 29 dollars, and the largest tax cuts would go to the wealthiest one percent of Oklahoma households. Just 29% still support the plan when they learn how it would affect Oklahomans at different income levels, with 61% opposed.