VOTERS SUPPORT DEATH TAX REPEAL IN KEY SENATE STATES

May 9, 2001

CONTACT:  McLaughlin & Associates
  STUART POLK, Vice President
   spolk@mclaughlinonline.com (703/518-4445)
  CHARLIE BANKS, Data Specialist
   cbanks@mclaughlinonline.com (845/353/4700)

NATIONAL MEDIA RELEASE

In a series of five bipartisan statewide surveys, conducted jointly by McLaughlin & Associates (R) and Public Opinion Research (D) among likely voters in Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota, the vast majority of voters voiced strong support, on a number of fronts, for repeal of the estate tax, also known as the "death tax."

Abolishing the estate tax is a key feature of President Bush's budget and tax cut plan currently before Congress.  Its presence and prominence on the agenda is boosting support for the President's plan among the public.  Furthermore, this issue could well develop into a defining one going into the 2002 elections for U.S. Senate.

Among the key findings in these surveys:

• Voters in these five battleground states overwhelmingly consider the estate tax unfair.  Nearly 9 in 10 said it was unfair to tax a person's income while it is being earned, and then tax it again after the person dies.  This anti-estate tax sentiment remains high even after respondents are informed that the estate tax applies only to assets in excess of $675,000 per estate.  This consistency of sentiment among these diverse states runs contrary to conventional wisdom that the estate tax is a high priority for only the wealthiest Americans.
• Voters in these five battleground states are strongly in favor of eliminating the estate tax.  Over 7 in 10 voters in these states spoke up in favor of abolishing it.
• The prospect of abolishing the estate tax leads voters in these states to take a more favorable view of President Bush's tax cut plan.  Nearly two-thirds said they would be more likely to support President Bush's tax cut if they knew it included a plan to eliminate all estate taxes.
• The estate tax will likely prove a liability for U.S. Senators in these states who vote against its elimination.  When asked whether they would be more likely or less likely to cast a ballot for their senators (identified by name), if they knew their senators voted against abolishing the estate tax and instead voted to keep it, decisive pluralities and majorities in every state answered "less likely."

Pollster John McLaughlin summarized the results by saying:  "The voters are way ahead of their senators.  They are optimists who want to succeed at the American Dream, but they see the death tax as extremely unfair, and they think paying taxes all their lives is enough."

To view these numbers state by state, click to download a comparison listing the exact wording of key questions and their results by state.  The file may be opened using Microsoft Word for Windows.

Methodology: This national survey of political attitudes was conducted by professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection was at random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to correlate statistically with actual voter distributions in statewide general elections.

Dates, sample sizes, and margins of error for each state are as follows:

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