Story highlights Nearly all registered voters surveyed -- 86% -- say they see paying taxes as a civic duty, poll says

Specifically, 79% of Trump backers believe paying taxes is a civic duty

Washington (CNN) The vast majority of registered voters view paying taxes as a "civic duty," including 79% of Donald Trump's supporters, according to a new poll.

Nearly all registered voters surveyed -- 86% -- say they see paying taxes as every American's civic duty, while 12% say that they see taxes as an unnecessary burden to be avoided, according to a CNN/ORC poll released Monday.

Most of the interviews from the poll were completed before Saturday night's report from The New York Times that revealed Trump might have avoided income taxes for the last 18 years after declaring a $916 million loss in 1995.

The Times did not look at Trump's federal return. It obtained one page of his New York State resident income tax returns as well as the first page of New Jersey and Connecticut nonresident returns. CNN has not independently verified the documents' authenticity, but Trump's campaign has not challenged any of the facts reported by The Times.

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