Republicans are overwhelmingly concerned with the current tax system, saying that the tax code is too complicated and the rates are too high, according to a survey from the American Action Network.
Tonight, President Donald Trump will give his first address before a joint session of Congress where he will likely focus on tax reform.
According to the survey, three-quarters of Republican voters say that tax reform is very important to them. Even among factions within the Republican Party, tax reform remains an important issue. The poll found that 78 percent of strong Trump Republicans, 78 percent of Tea Party Republicans, 79 percent of traditional primary Republicans, and 81 percent of general-election-only Republicans said it was an extremely important issue to them.
Republicans were asked what their main concerns were with the current tax system and a majority were concerned with the complexity of the tax code and high tax rates. Seventy percent said they were very concerned that too many people do not pay income taxes, 63 percent said they thought the tax code was unfair to average Americans, and 56 percent said there were too many tax loopholes for corporations.
Fewer Republicans were concerned about corporations that do not pay their "fair share" in taxes (44 percent) or rich individuals who do not pay their "fair share" (41 percent).
Republicans were also asked about the goal of tax reform. The majority of Republicans (57 percent) said it was extremely important that the reforms make it easier to create jobs, raise wages, and expand opportunity for Americans.
Fifty-five percent of Republicans said it was extremely important to implement a tax code that grows the economy and increases job creation. Republicans also thought it was extremely important to encourage companies to bring foreign assets to the United States (54 percent), simplify and lower rates (51 percent), and transform the IRS (49 percent).
House Republicans led by Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) and Ways and Means chairman Kevin Brady (R., Texas) have introduced a tax reform plan that would reduce the number of tax brackets from five to three and would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent.
Eighty percent of Republicans polled said they approved of this plan, 54 percent said they strongly approve, and only 8 percent said they disapprove.
"America’s tax code is unfair, too complicated, and rates are too high," said Corry Bliss, executive director of the American Action Network. "That’s precisely what a strong majority of Republicans believe."
"As President Trump and conservatives in Congress work on tax reform, this constituency is strongly behind them and overwhelmingly supports center-right tax reform," Bliss said. "It’s clear, now is the right time to deliver on a simple tax code with lower rates for all Americans."
Update 4:23 P.M.: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed the poll to the American Action Forum.