LOS ANGELES, May 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IBD/TIPP, one of America’s most accurate pollsters, today announced the results of its monthly survey, in conjunction with the latest readings of its Economic Optimism Index. By taking a hardline stance on North Korea and proposing tax cuts for individuals and corporations, Trump’s abysmal approval ratings could be turning around. His rating climbed to 39 percent in May from last month's 34 percent, while the IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index — which includes poll results on favorability, job approval, and leadership — climbed 7 percent to 42.6, marking the first month-over-month increase since Trump became president.
Interestingly, Trump’s tax proposals have not met the same vitriolic early resistance that he experienced with healthcare, indicating that he could pick up a much needed big win if his plans are accepted and adopted by Congress. According to the IBD/TIPP poll:
- A remarkably high 76 percent of respondents are closely following Trump’s tax proposals, and the majority of this group backs each of the plan’s key provisions.
- Three quarters of respondents support Trump’s proposal for a one-time tax on money companies hold overseas in order to encourage businesses to bring some of the $2.5 trillion back into the U.S. Republicans (91 percent), Democrats (64 percent) and Independents (73 percent) all like this idea.
- The corporate tax cut -- from 35 percent to the proposed 15 percent -- got majority support from every age group as well as from every income bracket above $30,000. It also appealed to investors (56 percent) and non-investors (53 percent) alike.
- Another surprise was strong support on repealing the “death tax.” Fifty-three percent of Independents following the story would get rid of the estate tax, as would 87 percent of Republicans. By contrast, 61 percent of Democrats oppose repealing the estate tax.
- Individual tax cuts also earned support, with 58 percent agreeing with his plan to reduce the current tax bracket structure from seven to three and lowering the tax rate of the highest bracket to 35 percent.
- Additionally, 66 percent of respondents liked Trump’s idea of doubling the standard deduction. This proposal won support across all political parties.
“Those who voted for President Trump indicated in the past that his business background was key to their support. We see this playing out on the main stage now that he has taken office as Americans are actively following his ideas on tax reform. Across demographics and spanning the political spectrum, people are largely in favor of Trump’s proposals at both the individual and corporate level,” said Terry Jones, Commentary Editor of Investor’s Business Daily.
When it comes to North Korea, IBD/TIPP poll respondents overwhelmingly believe the country has the potential to do harm:
- Of respondents closely following the story, 87 percent believe that North Korea poses a threat to the U.S. and its allies.
- Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) would support military action if North Korea were to “continue its provocations and become a growing threat."
- The majority of Independents (54 percent) and Republicans (95 percent) approve of Trump’s leadership with respect to North Korea, while he earned support from only one in five Democrats.
“It is clear that Americans take North Korea very seriously and support action if required in the coming days,” added Jones. “If President Trump continues to project strong leadership and focus on key areas where he has support, such as North Korea and tax reform, he may begin to turn around the rocky start to his presidency.”
Other interesting points of note from May’s IBD/TIPP poll include:
- A slight rise in satisfaction with the direction of the country -- 43 percent are satisfied now vs. 39 percent last month.
- Only 41 percent indicated that federal funding for the border wall is important as Congress works to pass a new budget.
- Prior to the House passing the American Healthcare Act of 2017 on May 4, more than three-quarters of poll respondents (76 percent) backed ObamaCare’s prohibition on charging the sick higher premiums than the healthy, and only 43 percent supported the Republican proposal to allow states to get a waiver from ObamaCare’s community rating and essential health benefit provisions.
To learn more about May’s IBD/TIPP poll findings, please visit: http://www.investors.com/news/ibdtipp-americas-most-accurate-pollster/
ABOUT THE IBD©/TIPP POLL
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index is the earliest take on consumer confidence each month and predicts with good reliability monthly changes in sentiment in well-known polls by The Conference Board and the University of Michigan. The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index is based on a survey about 900 adults chosen at random nationwide. The national poll is generally conducted in the first week of the month by live interviewers and both cell phone and landlines.
For more information, go to www.tipponline.com. To license the IBD/TIPP Poll, please contact: IBDlicensing@investors.com.
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