Poll shows support for Obama's tax plan

President Barack Obama’s plan to raise capital gains taxes on wealthy families is winning public approval, according to a new survey.

When asked whether they’d favor increasing the capital gains tax on stocks owned by households making more than $500,000 per year, 56 percent of those surveyed said they would, in the latest Associated Press-GfK poll. And 68 percent of respondents said wealthy households pay “too little” in federal taxes. Among middle-class households, 60 percent said that they’re paying too much.


A plurality of 47 percent also agreed that a fee should be instituted against financial institutions and banks with assets of more than $50 billion.

The poll comes on the heels of the president’s State of the Union address last month, in which he pushed for an end to “loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top 1 percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth.”

The survey assessed the opinions of 1,045 adults across the country between Jan. 29 and Feb. 2, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.