A majority of Utahns still support the tax cuts passed by Congress at the end of 2017, but only about 1/4 of them say they’ve seen an increase in their paycheck.
A bare majority of Utahns say they support the massive tax cuts passed by Republicans in Congress at the end of 2017. 51% overall say they approve of the cuts, with 21% saying they “strongly approve,” while 30% “somewhat approve.” 39% of Utahns are opposed to the cuts, while 10% have no opinion.
The overhaul of the tax code moved through Congress last year without any Democratic support, as critics said the cuts were targeted mostly toward corporations and the wealthy, while those at the lower end of the income scale saw much smaller tax reductions.
Nationally, surveys show that support for the tax cuts has dropped slightly. A June survey from Politico and Morning Consult found that 37% of voters approved of the cuts, which is down from 44% in April.
In Utah, support for the tax cuts has dropped slightly as well. In a February UtahPolicy.com survey, 56% of Utahns said they supported the cuts, while 34% were opposed.
76% of Utah Republican voters are behind the Trump tax cuts, which is virtually unchanged from the February survey (79% supported the reductions).
The number of Utah Democrats who support the tax cuts has dropped by half since our February survey. Earlier this year, 12% of Utah Democratic voters said they felt favorable about the tax cuts. Now, that number is down to just 6%.
Support for the tax reductions among independent voters has dropped by 10%. In February, 47% of unaffiliated Utah voters said they supported the law. Now, that number has declined to 37%.
The Real Clear Politics average of polls for the Trump tax cuts finds that 36% of Americans approve of the cuts, while 42% are opposed, which is a net-negative approval of just over 6%.
Despite majority support for the tax law, less than 1/4 of Utahns say they’ve noticed an increase in their paychecks from the cuts.
- 24% of Utah voters say they’ve seen their pay go up as a result of the tax cuts.
- 43% say they have not seen a bump in their paychecks since the tax cuts went into effect.
- 30% of Utah voters replied that the tax law changes did not apply to them.
Those numbers track with national polls. The Politico/Morning Consult survey found that only 25% of Americans had noticed an increase in their paychecks, while 52% said they had not.
Republicans in Congress were counting on the tax overhaul to boost their fortunes during the midterm elections, but the tax changes are apparently not having the effect they hoped for since only a quarter of the population is noticing any benefit from the changes.
The Dan Jones & Associates survey was conducted May 15-25, 2018 among 615 likely Utah voters, with a margin of error of 4.0%.
