2019 U.S. Tax Survey

In October 2019, the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University conducted a nationwide survey of 3,062 individuals — representative by age, race, political affiliation, household income, and state residence — to understand the American population’s views on current and proposed tax policies.

Key findings include:

• Tax rates for high-income earners are about right
• Majority favor a wealth tax … but not if it harms the economy
• Americans do not want to set limits on personal wealth
• Americans do not believe in a right to universal basic income
• Trust in the ability of the U.S. government to spend tax dollars effectively is low
• Americans believe in higher taxes for corporations who pay their CEO large dollar amounts
• Little appetite exists to break up “big tech”