Tax Burden, Tax Types, and Public Support for Social Welfare Programs

Tax proceeds provide the funding base for the welfare state. However, little is known about how taxes affect public support for welfare programs. We contend that the design features of the tax sources of welfare programs can affect Americans’ welfare preferences. Moreover, these effects may vary depending on citizens’ ideological beliefs and income levels. Through conducting a conjoint experiment, we explore how people of different political ideologies and income levels respond to welfare programs’ tax sources. Our analysis suggests that tax salience considerably affects welfare attitudes. We also find that information about progressive taxes funding welfare programs has a more pronounced negative impact on welfare support among high-income citizens, while details about regressive tax sources have a more substantial dampening impact on low-income individuals. However, political ideology does not significantly shape citizens’ welfare preferences when they receive information about federal or state taxes that fund welfare programs.