Voters Want Balanced Budget and Low Taxes, Poll Finds

Most Americans want to balance the budget and keep taxes low, a new poll suggests.

According to a Napolitan News Service survey—organized by noted pollster Scott Rasmussen—31% of registered voters would “strongly favor” a proposal to balance the federal budget in 10 years, while 39% “somewhat favor” it. Taken together, that's a 70% supermajority.

That leaves a combined 11% of voters who either “somewhat oppose” or “strongly oppose” the idea, and 18% who are “not sure."

The strong support for balancing the budget comes as Republicans are working to pass a budget reconciliation bill through the House of Representatives by Independence Day. 

If Republicans are unsuccessful in doing so, then President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts will expire at the end of 2025. Republicans want to extend these tax cuts through budget reconciliation.

A 52% majority of respondents think it is possible to balance the budget while cutting taxes, with 22% saying it isn't possible and 25% aren't sure.

Raising taxes to balance the federal budget is an unpopular proposal, the poll found. Just 12% of those polled strongly favor that course, and 20% somewhat favor it, while 24% somewhat oppose it and 32% are strongly opposed.

Americans are also evenly divided about what’s more important, cutting taxes or balancing the budget.

While 40% said balancing the federal budget is more important, 41% chose cutting taxes. Just 6% said neither is important, and 13% weren’t sure.

But when voters were presented with figures on Republicans' proposals to cut 10-year spending totals from $86 trillion to $84 trillion, 19% say that would be a “major cut,” and 45% called it a “minor cut.”

But 11% called it a “rounding error,” 12% said it was “no cut at all,” and another 12% weren't sure.