Poll: Less than a quarter of Americans think GOP tax plan is a good idea

Less than one quarter of Americans believe the Republican tax-reform bill set to get its final votes in Congress this week is a good idea, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday. 

The poll, conducted Dec. 13-15 before the House or Senate voted on a final version of the bill, shows 24 percent of Americans think the tax plan is a good idea, compared to 41 percent who say it’s a bad idea. 

The bill’s popularity has decreased since October, when 25 percent thought it was a good idea and 35 percent thought it was a bad idea.

{mosads}The bill is more popular among Republicans, with 53 percent giving the tax plan positive marks, according to the poll. Meanwhile, 67 percent of Democrats reject the legislation.

The bill is expected to reach President Trump’s desk this week without a single Democratic vote. The House approved the bill on Tuesday, but will have to re-vote on Wednesday after it was discovered three provisions violated Senate budget rules.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill on Tuesday night. 

The bill slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and lowers the top individual tax rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. The bill also effectively repeals the ObamaCare individual mandate that requires people to buy health insurance or face a penalty.

Democrats have argued the bill disproportionately helps wealthier Americans and corporations.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found 63 percent of Americans believe the tax plan was designed mostly to benefit the wealthy, compared to 22 percent who think it was designed to help all individuals equally. 

Republicans have argued that the bill’s popularity will grow over time once the legislation starts to take effect.

The poll surveyed 900 adults and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.