More Americans are having to count their pennies as they complain about tax rates. Photo by Singkham/Shutterstock

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- As tax day looms, more Americans are complaining about the amount they have to pay to the government.

In a survey conducted by Gallup, 57 percent of those polled stated that they were paying too much in taxes.


That's a rise of six percentage points from just a year ago, and the highest dissatisfaction rate in 15 years, since a major tax cut was introduced by George W. Bush's administration.

When people were asked if they felt the amount they were paying in taxes was unfair, 47 percent said "yes." That's a seven-point increase from last year, and up 13 percent from 10 years ago.

Views on taxation varied greatly according to political allegiance. While 44 percent of Democrats said their tax bill was too high, 77 percent of Republicans complained about the amount they had to pay to Uncle Sam.

Young people are more likely than seniors to gripe about their tax burden. In 2015, only 38 percent of those under 30 complained about their taxes. But this year the figure shot up to 55 percent. In comparison, only 39 percent of those aged 65 and over were unhappy about their taxes, down from 46 percent last year.

Meanwhile, the gender gap has disappeared. Last year, 47 percent of women said they paid too much, compared to 56 percent of men. Now the dissatisfaction among women has shot up to 58 percent, while men have stayed steady at 55 percent.

Altogether 1,015 adults, age 18 and older, were surveyed by telephone interviews conducted in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on April 6-10. There is a 4 percent margin of error.

The deadline for filing IRS tax returns this year is Monday.