Fox News Poll: Voters Say They’re Getting a Bad Deal for Their Tax Dollars

As the tax filing deadline approaches, most American voters feel they are getting a bad deal for their money. In addition, more voters think their tax dollars are spent less carefully these days than think they are spent just as carefully, or with more care than they were before.

A Fox News poll released Thursday asked voters to consider all the things the government does and all the services used that are paid for with taxpayer dollars, and found 60 percent feel they are getting a “bad deal” for their money. That’s twice as many as the 29 percent who feel they’re getting a “good deal.” Another 6 percent call it a “fair deal.”

Click here for full poll results.

A 56-percent majority of those making less than $50,000 a year say they are getting a bad deal for the taxes they pay. That negative feeling increases to 66 percent among those in higher income households.

Views among Democrats are split: 42 percent feel they get a good deal for the taxes they pay, while 45 percent say they get a bad deal.

Some 60 percent of independents and a large 77 percent majority of Republicans call it a bad deal. Almost all voters (84 percent) who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement feel they are getting a bad deal for their tax dollars.

Although 14 percent of voters believe their tax money is spent more carefully today than it was five years ago, three and a half times as many -- 49 percent -- say it is spent less carefully now.

A third of voters (34 percent) think taxpayer dollars are spent just as carefully today as before.

Republicans (69 percent) are twice as likely as Democrats (34 percent) to say tax dollars are spent less carefully these days. Some 43 percent of independents also believe tax dollars are spent less carefully.

Forty percent of Democrats say taxes are spent with about the same care, and 22 percent say they are spent more carefully now.

Finally, a slim 52 percent majority of voters feels the amount of taxes they pay is “fair.” Some 43 percent view their tax bill as being “more than” their fair share. Hardly any -- 3 percent -- feel they pay “less than” their fair share.

Higher income respondents feel they pay more than their fair share, while those living in households making less than $50,000 a year are inclined to say they pay about their share in taxes.

Majorities of Democrats (61 percent) and independents (52 percent) feel they pay about their share in taxes, while about four in 10 Republicans (42 percent) agree.

Meanwhile, Republicans (54 percent) are more likely than independents (41 percent) and Democrats (34 percent) to feel they pay more than their fair share of taxes.

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 914 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from April 3 to April 5. For the total sample, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.