Polls Favor Tax Reform if Benefits are Specified
by John Stewart, TFT Board Member from Knoxville
The following report was issued to the media at a TFT press conference in Nashville on Friday, Feb. 1, 2002.
Click here for a previous summary of polls conducted in Nov. 1999.
 A careful analysis of public opinion polls conducted over the past decade reveals that a majority or near majority of Tennesseans indicate their support of tax reform, including a graduated income tax, when the survey question encompasses the range of benefits designed to accompany the tax reform package.
In other words, as the General Assembly confronts the most urgent revenue crisis in recent Tennessee history, there exists a popular mandate in support of comprehensive tax reform, including an income tax, if other state taxes are reduced or eliminated and if the additional revenue is used for recognized state programs, such as education.
These polls also reveal strong public backing for state support of education, the handicapped, law enforcement, the court system, foster care, mental health assistance, mass transit, and the highway program.
The belief that Tennesseans are unalterably opposed to tax reform and a state income tax can be traced to those polls that omit some or all of these public benefits. This is similar to asking persons if they support having their appendix removed without mentioning that certain well-defined health benefits are likely to follow.
The analysis of recent public opinion polls was conducted by Fred Sweeton, a member of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation in Oak Ridge. Sweeton examined eleven Tennessee tax-related polls (or groups of polls) that were conducted between 1989 and 2001. Included in this roster of public opinion surveys are those conducted by the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Tennessee, the Hickman/Maslin Poll, the Middle Tennessee Poll conducted by Middle Tennessee State University, the Mason-Dixon Poll, polls conducted for Citizens for Fair Taxes and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, and the Vanderbilt Poll.
In his analysis, Sweeton found the following results:
- Polls that fail to mention any of the benefits of tax reform (for example, "Would you support adopting a state income tax in Tennessee?") reveal an average support level of about 27% of the respondents
- Polls that mention some benefits of tax reform (for example, "Would you support adopting a state income tax if, at the same time, the general sales tax was lowered and all sales taxes were removed from food?") reveal an average support level of about 38%, an increase of 11 percentage points.
- Polls that mention the full benefits of tax reform (for example, "Would you support adopting a state income tax if, at the same time, sales taxes were reduced, taxes on grocery food, clothing and non-prescription drugs were removed, the tax on investment income was removed, and low income families would be exempt from the income tax?") reveal an average support level of 58%, an increase of 31%.
- Polls that additionally link the benefits of tax reform to education (for example, "Would you support a state income tax coupled with a reduction in the sales tax if the proceeds were to be used for education?") reveal an average support level of 61%, an increase of 34%.
This increase in the public's support for tax reform when it is linked to specific state programs, such as education, is not surprising when the public's overwhelming support for these programs is taken into account. MTSU's Middle Tennessee Poll (Spring 2000) asked respondents whether they favored or opposed additional state spending in the following education-related programs:
| |
Favor |
Oppose |
Raise teachers' salaries |
81% |
11% |
Expand early childhood education |
67% |
19% |
Additional English & Math testing |
62% |
25% |
A similar Middle Tennessee Poll (Spring 1999) asked respondents whether the state is spending "too little" or "too much" in various state programs:
| |
Too Little |
Too Much |
State Universities |
45% |
4% |
Community/technical schools |
40% |
3% |
Elementary & secondary education |
63% |
3% |
Programs for the mentally retarded |
57% |
1% |
The full text of Sweeton's analysis, including a listing of the polls with their precise wording and their categorization according to their identification of tax reform benefits can be obtained from Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, 2918 Magnolia Ave., Suite 150, Knoxville, TN 37914. Phone 865-687-9600. Email: www.fairtaxation.org
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