Most Americans Think the Tax Bill Will Benefit the Wealthy Not the Middle Class
Two-thirds of Americans believe the proposed tax reform bill would benefit the wealthy more than it would the middle class, according to a CNN poll released Tuesday. That viewpoint differs from the narrative Republicans and President Donald Trump have been pushing to garner support for the legislation, which 55 of Americans said in the CNN poll that they opposed. Thirty-three of Americans said they favored the bill, while 60 of Republicans said it would benefit the middle class more than rich Americans. The House will vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Tuesday afternoon as Republicans try to push the bill before the holiday recess. If the bill passes, it will move on to the Senate for a vote later on Tuesday or on Wednesday. And if it's passed there, it will move on to Trump to be signed into law. Sixty-three percent of Americans said they do not believe Congressional Republicans and Trump made "a good faith effort" to work with Democrats on the tax bill, according to the CNN poll. The 1,097-page bill cuts the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 and also lowers the tax rate overall. Economics experts told TIME this week that the bill favors higher-income inners and businesses more than it does the middle class. While the bill doubles the standard deduction for middle-class families, its tax cuts for corporations and elements like doubling the minimum for the estate tax would aid wealthier Americans. The largest cuts proposed in the bill would benefit Americans earning in the 95th to 99th percentile, according to the left-leaning think tank Tax Policy Center. Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation said in an analysis of the bill Monday that middle-income households will get 23 of the tax cuts proposed in the bill, according to The Wall Street Journal. CNN surveyed 1,001 adults between Dec. 14 and Dec. 17. The full poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.