Americans think wealthy will benefit from tax plan

WASHINGTON — Most Americans say President Donald Trump’s tax plan would benefit the wealthy and corporations, and less than half believe his message that “massive tax cuts” would help middle-class workers, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll.

The survey could serve as a warning sign for Trump as he pushes Republicans to support his proposal. The president and GOP lawmakers are seeking a major legislative victory before the 2018 elections.

For all the differences of opinion over the details of tax changes, the poll shows a large and bipartisan appetite for tax cuts for middle-class families. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats think the middle class and small businesses pay too much and that the wealthy and large corporations pay too little.

But doubts and partisan differences emerge when Americans size up whether the middle class will truly benefit from Trump’s plan, says the survey conducted by the APNORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Just 43 percent of those of adults who have heard at least a little bit about the plan think it would help the middle class. And on that, there’s a large partisan divide: 79 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of Democrats share that sentiment.

The poll found 69 percent of adults who have heard at least a little bit about the plan think it would help large corporations. The sentiment was bipartisan, including 70 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of Republicans.

Also, 60 percent said the tax push would bolster the wealthy, with 67 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Republicans viewing it that way.

The poll found 51 percent think tax cuts for the wealthy would hurt the economy compared with 23 percent who thought it would help. Also, 48 percent said tax cuts for large corporations would hurt the economy compared with 31 percent who think they would help.