Six in ten Americans say rich should pay more taxes

Washington, Aug. 28 (ANI): A majority of Americans have said that the widening gap between rich and poor is bad for the country and believe that wealthy people are paying too little in taxes, a new poll has revealed.

According to the poll released by the Pew Research Center, nearly six in 10 Americans, or 58 percent said that the rich don't pay enough in taxes, while 26 percent Americans believe the rich pay their fair share.

The poll found that only eight percent Americans said that the rich pay too much in taxes.

According to CBS News, even among those who describe themselves as 'upper class', or 'upper middle class', more than half, or 52 percent, said upper-income Americans don't pay enough in taxes; only 10 percent said they paid too much.

Around 62 percent of this upper tier said that they are more financially secure now than 10 years ago, compared to 44 percent who identified themselves as middle class and 29 percent for the lower class, the report said.

According to the report, the findings come at the start of this week's Republican National Convention and as both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama seek to appeal to a broad swath of financially struggling voters who identify as middle class for votes.

"The fact that Romney may be viewed as wealthy doesn't necessarily pose problems for his candidacy," Kim Parker, associate director of Pew Social and Demographic Trends, noting that people see the wealthy as having both positive and negative attributes, said.

"The challenge for Romney lies more in the fact that large majorities say if he is elected president, his policies would likely benefit the wealthy," he added.

The results reinforce a tide of recent economic data showing a widening economic divide. America's middle class has been shrinking in the stagnant economy and poverty is now

According to Pew' findings, about 63 percent of Americans said that GOP favours the rich over the middle class and poor, and 71 percent say Romney's election would be good for wealthy people.

More Americans, 60 percent, said that if Obama is re-elected his policies will benefit the poor, while half say they'll help the middle class and 37 percent say they'll boost the wealthy, the report said. (ANI)