As we head into the midterms, longtime S-CORP allies David Winston and Myra Miller of The Winston Group joined us to walk through their latest polling on tax policy, spending, and where the voters stand heading into the next big tax fight.
With concerns over debt, deficits, and Social Security’s pending insolvency mounting, the Winston Group’s research suggests Main Street enters the debate from a position of strength, but only if we build a foundation of understanding upon a number of key economic realities.
As we’ve covered before, when voters are asked what is the maximum the biggest corporation or wealthiest taxpayer should pay in taxes, they consistently cite a “maximum acceptable rate” that’s well below what’s actually being paid. We don’t face a pollical challenge, we face an education challenge.
Another misperception is the narrative that the tax cuts in 2017 and 2025 are depriving the government of needed revenue. The latest budget numbers tell a completely different story. Here’s David:
During that time frame, revenues increased 58 percent. And everybody was talking about how much the bill was going to cost, and in fact, revenues increased by a significant margin. Individual tax revenue increased 67 percent, and corporate tax revenue increased 52 percent. So what was the problem here in terms of the deficit? Well, actual federal spending — government spending — increased 76 percent.
We face a spending challenge, not a revenue challenge.
And even where voters seem open to raising rates, that support is fragile. On the idea of taking the top rate to 40 percent, Myra noted that support flips fast once small businesses enter the picture:
Introducing the fact that raising that top rate would apply to small and family-owned businesses overwhelmingly flips voters, Republicans, and independents to opposing that. So this is an ongoing education challenge — just making sure people know when we talk about raising that top rate, who you’re actually going to be hitting, which is small family-owned businesses.
So the voters and the numbers are on our side. We just need to let people know it — making sure Congress, staff, and voters alike have the facts before the next big tax bill lands.