Today, Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund is releasing a memo from pollsters John Anzalone and Matt Hogan of Impact Research, formerly ALG Research, explaining how raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations is a winning issue for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. The memo is based on their extensive work as President Biden’s polling firm during the 2020 presidential election campaign and since the election, as well as on polling they have done for other clients.
The full memo is available here and excerpted below:
“With Democrats facing a challenging political environment and President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda stalled in Congress, the party is hungry for issues to focus on that will help them win races in 2022 and improve their chances of keeping Congress. Fortunately for Democrats, there is an issue that is very popular, that provides a strong contrast with Republicans, and that both Presidents Biden and Obama used heavily in the past two winning Democratic presidential campaigns: making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
“It’s time for Democrats to stop thinking of raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations as just a way to pay for things and instead use it as the winning issue that it is, just as Presidents Biden and Obama did in their campaigns. Democratic support for this issue is a boost to the party, while Republican opposition to it represents a major vulnerability for the GOP. As a result, it provides Democrats with a strong contrast opportunity: while Democrats are working to make the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes to reduce the burden of rising costs on working families and seniors through passage of the Build Back Better Act, Republicans are instead fighting to protect tax breaks for the ultra wealthy and big corporations. …
“Democrats should go on the offensive with their plans to raise taxes on those earning over $400,000 and close corporate tax loopholes. Given the broad and intense support for these proposals, Democrats should be highlighting them in their messaging, just as Presidents Biden and Obama did in the past two winning Democratic presidential campaigns. No matter what Democrats do, Republicans will always accuse them of trying to raise taxes on the middle class. But if Democrats tout their plans to make the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes, they can not only help inoculate themselves against these attacks but also help drive a clear contrast on who each party is fighting for.”
Other highlights from the memo include:
“Raising taxes on the wealthy is more popular than virtually any other Democratic proposal. … Our extensive polling on the President’s Build Back Better agenda has shown a similar trend, with proposals to raise taxes on the ultra wealthy testing at the top of the agenda both in terms of popularity and in its importance to voters.
“The tax fairness issue was a key part of Biden and Obama’s messaging in Democrats’ past two winning presidential campaigns. …
“Republican support for cutting taxes for the wealthy is a major vulnerability for the GOP. …
“Two-thirds of voters believe raising taxes on the wealthiest and corporations will help the economy. …
“Messaging about the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) should highlight that it is paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations. …”
“We are circulating this memo far and wide so that members of Congress and groups active in the 2022 midterm elections understand how potent the tax fairness issue is with voters, especially persuadable voters,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund. “This issue can be just as effective this year as it was in the 2018 midterm elections when the Republican National Committee’s own pollster found that the GOP had lost the messaging battle on tax issues.”
Added Clemente: “Tax issues are sure to be high-profile issues in 2022, as raising taxes on the rich and corporations is how the Build Back Better Act is funded, a fact that is very popular with the public, and because Republicans always attack Democrats in elections for raising taxes on the middle class, whether they do so or not. As the Impact Research memo points out, it’s better to go on offense rather than play defense on these issues.”