National Sales Tax Still Unpopular

Rasmussen Reports
Mar. 30, 2010

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% of voters nationwide favor a national sales tax if the money is used to pay for health care for all Americans, but 51% oppose that idea. These findings are unchanged from December.

Take health care out of the equation, however, and opposition to a national sales tax on all goods and services is higher. Only 22% favor a national sales tax as a way for the government to raise more money, while 60% are opposed. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided.

Sixty percent (60%) of voters nationwide think tax increases hurt the economy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spoken favorably of a value added tax (VAT). The VAT is very similar to a national sales tax and has the same impact on the consumer. Most other countries around the world have a VAT, and it is considered one of the most efficient ways for a government to raise money.

Charles Krauthammer, a columnist for The Washington Post, argued in a column last week that "with the passage of Obamacare "¦ a national sales tax of the kind near-universal in Europe is inevitable."

If the creation of a national sales tax eliminates the need for a federal income tax, support for the sales tax increases to 47%. Thirty percent (30%) are still opposed, and 23% are not sure.

However, just 26% of all voters think that it is even somewhat likely the government would cut income taxes after implementing a sales tax. Sixty-six percent (66%) believe it's unlikely to happen.

Now that the national health care plan is law, many are wondering how America will pay for it. One finding that has changed little over the months is the belief by 78% of voters that taxes on the middle class will have to be increased to pay for the health care plan.

If taxes must go up to pay for the health care plan, 39% prefer the creation of a national sales tax to raising income tax rates for all Americans. Thirteen percent (13%) think raising income taxes is a better plan. However, 48% of voters express no preference.

One week after the House of Representatives passed the health care plan, 54% of voters still favor repealing it. Forty-two percent (42%) are opposed to repeal.

Even as the Obama administration's initiatives push the federal deficit to historic highs for years to come, voters continue to believe cutting the deficit in half by the end of his first term is the president's number one priority.

Twenty-three percent (23%) of voters say they prefer a more active government with more services and higher taxes over one with fewer services and lower taxes. Sixty-six percent (66%) prefer a government with fewer services and lower taxes.












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