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Americans are proud to pay taxes — except when they think others are cheating.

The following article by Vanessa Williamson was posted on the Washington Post website April 18, 2017:

People think Americans hate taxes. They don’t, as I found while researching my new book; they see it as an important civic duty. What makes them angry is the idea that some people don’t pay their fair share.

Many Americans wrongly believe that while they are dutifully paying taxes, a lot of other people — especially lower-income people and immigrants — are not taxpayers.

And with tax reform back on the national agenda, those misperceptions matter.

Who pays taxes in the U.S.?

In a survey I conducted in 2014 of 1,000 U.S. adults, 88 percent of respondents answered “yes” to the question, “Are you a taxpayer?” But when asked what percentage of U.S. adults are taxpayers, these same respondents typically estimated 66.5 percent.

Categories: National Issues
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