In Defying the Odds, we discuss the tax issue in the 2016 campaign. The update -- just published --includes a chapter on the 2018 midterms. and explains why the Trump tax cut backfired on Republicans,
According to the Wesleyan Media Project, taxes were the most popular issue in pro-GOP ads (promoting the tax law as a middle-class tax cut) and the second-most popular issue for pro-Democratic ads (saying the law was a raw deal for most and a payout for the rich).
Opinions on the Trump tax law have more or less crystalized. A new Pew Research Center poll found that 49 percent of Americans disapprove of the tax law, while 36 percent approve — almost no change from a January 2018 Pew poll. If anything, Republicans have gotten a bit less enthusiastic about the bill, with the number who strongly approve dropping 14 points from January 2018 to last month (overall GOP support is roughly the same).
And expect taxes to be a major issue in 2020. About 60 percent of Americans feel that corporations and the wealthy don’t pay their fair share of taxes, and it bothers them “a lot.” Just 32 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners say the tax system is very or moderately fair — partially explaining the emphasis Democratic hopefuls like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have placed on instituting new taxes on the ultra-rich. Compare this to 64 percent of Republican and Republican leaners who think the American tax system is fair, and who are still broadly supportive of the president’s tax policy.
