Harris Poll: Americans wary of tax cuts

[bigpoppanils]

THE HARRIS POLL

Many Americans Are Wary

Of Bush's Proposed Tax Cuts

A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP

Americans are skeptical about the large tax cut proposed by President Bush, and many fear it could do more harm than good, according to the latest Harris Poll.

More people believe Mr. Bush's plan will damage the economy than believe the plan will spur growth. Some 34% of Americans say a tax cut will make the economy grow faster, while 36% fear a cut will increase the budget deficit and damage the economy.

Only 18% believe that cutting taxes is more important than reducing the federal budget deficit. Some 77% of Americans say maintaining government services like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid is more important than cutting taxes.

Not surprisingly, opinions differ sharply along party lines. More than a quarter of Republicans view scaling back taxes as a priority, compared with only 10% of Democrats. Nearly a third of conservatives agree tax cuts should be a top priority; just 12% of liberals and moderates hold that view.

As for which party is better at handling tax policy, Americans are decidedly unimpressed: While 26% say Republicans are more trustworthy, and the same number favor Democrats, 27% of respondents say that neither party can be trusted to do the right thing.

Updated May 4, 2003 11:42 p.m.

for detailed results:

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=374