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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did polls during primary season find strong support for a wealth tax in the US?

By Christopher Hutton
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YES

The concept of a wealth tax, which was advocated by some candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary, won majority popular support in several polls during that phase of the campaign.

In a January 2020 Reuters poll, 64% of Americans agreed the very rich should contribute extra to support public programs. In a December 2019 poll for Fox News, 68% of respondents expressed support for a new 2% tax on anyone with assets of more than $50 million. Several other pollsters reported similar results.

Stanford Business School researchers in March reported wide support for the idea cutting across political affiliations. Support faded, however, if survey respondents were told a tax would hurt economic growth or employment. "If it would cause the economy to suffer, they quickly change their position,” said David Larcker, an accounting professor.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Reuters: Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich
Fox News: Poll results, December 8-11, 2019 (see question 7)
The Hill: New poll finds overwhelming support for an annual wealth tax
Stanford: Americans' views on taxes are surprisingly complicated
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.