Most Americans believe new tax law will help wealthy more than middle class, poll finds
FILE-President Donald Trump (C) holds a gavel after signing the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Americans believe that the recently passed tax and spending legislation passed by Republicans will benefit wealthy people based on a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Approximately 1,437 Americans participated in the AP-NORC poll conducted between July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel.
60% of Americans say new tax law helps the wealthy
Why you should care:
According to the poll, roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults expect the new tax law will help the rich, meanwhile 6 in 10 respondents think it will do more to hurt than help low-income people. About half say it will do more harm than good for middle-class people and people like them. The new survey 6 in 10 Americans indicates that the government is spending "too much."
RELATED: More than half of Americans oppose Trump's spending bill, poll shows
Americans admit the tax bill has little benefit for low-income or middle-class people
Dig deeper:
Most people have heard about the new tax legislation, which the poll shows that 60% of Americans have heard or read "a lot" or "some" about it.
Even Republicans concede that wealthy Americans will benefit from the tax and spending law, with 50% saying the bill will do more to help the wealthy. A similar portion says this about middle-class people, while about 4 in 10 Republicans think it will do more to help than hurt low-income people.
RELATED: Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill is a 'disgusting abomination,' Elon Musk now says
In lieu of the sentiment that wealthy people mainly benefit from tax and spending legislation, the poll found that Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to think the law could harm them personally.
According to the poll, about half of Republicans expect the legislation to do more to help "people like you," compared with about 2 in 10 independents and just 6% of Democrats.
Less than 40% approve of Trump’s government spending
Big picture view:
Only 38% of Americans approve of how President Donald Trump is managing government spending, compared with 46% in an AP-NORC poll in March.
According to the poll, Republicans are less likely to believe the federal government is spending "too much" than they were in March 2023. However, 6 in 10 respondents still think the government is overspending. A similar number of Democrats say the same thing.
The poll noted that the expensive costs of the Republican spending bill could factor into some Americans’ opinions of the law, and the survey shows fewer respondents are likely to support how Trump is overseeing government spending.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll of 1,437 Americans conducted between July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.