(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



House Republicans' 'fair tax' ploy another electoral gift to Democrats [1]

['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-02-22  

New polling from the progressive consortium Navigator Research shows exactly why two people who will be in for a fight in 2024 jumped at the chance to highlight the House GOP's supposed 'fair tax' proposal.

When voters are told the Fair Tax Act would eliminate "all income, payroll, estate, and gift taxes, and replace them with a 30% national sales tax on everything you buy,” 53% reject the idea while only 28% approve of it—a 25-point deficit.

The proposal is 29 points underwater with independents (19% support – 48% oppose) and even 6 points underwater with Republicans (38% support – 44% oppose).

Those baseline numbers are bad for Republicans, but Democrats have an opportunity to magnify the damage by giving the measure a little more time in the spotlight. Overall, 19% still remain unsure about Republicans' national sales tax, including fully 33% of independents.

Right out of the gate, Americans understand that the proposal would be a boon to the rich and a regressive tax on poor and middle-class families, with 58% saying they would pay more in taxes if the proposal was passed.

That understanding is bipartisan, garnering agreement among 65% of Democrats, 63% of independents, and even a 49% plurality of Republicans.

But Navigator also tested the effects framing the proposal as a "massive tax cut" for wealthy Americans while forcing everyone else to pay 30% more "for everything you buy like milk, diapers, bread, and eggs."

That messaging pushed voters' opposition to 64% overall, including a 58% majority of independents (up 10 points) and a 56% majority of Republicans (up 12 points).

The House GOP's national sales tax proposal is a damning giveaway about Republican priorities to continue enriching the wealthy while disproportionately taxing the rest of America more.

But with a bit more work, Democrats could make it absolutely toxic at the polls.

Whether Republicans are dumb enough to put it up for a vote remains to be seen. House GOP leaders appear to understand its electoral implications, but they aren't running the show in the lower chamber. The House GOP maniacs might be just dumb enough to force that vote—more power to 'em.

RELATED STORIES:

Republicans try to distance themselves from national sales tax plan, but it's too late

There’s lots of reasons this ridiculous national sales tax bill never made it to the House floor

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/22/2154452/-House-Republicans-fair-tax-ploy-another-electoral-gift-to-Democrats

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/