NEW YORK -- A majority of Americans consider the revised income tax laws less fair the old ones, a study conducted by the Conference Board reported Thursday.
About 53 percent of respondents in the survey of 5,000 U.S. households said the laws were less fair.
Only 14 percent considered the laws more fair, the Conference Board said.
Fewer taxpayers felt the law was in their best interests than when it was first passed.
In a survey conducted immediately after the new legislation, only one-third of respondents classified the tax laws as less fair.
The survey said many Americans felt they faced a greater tax burden because of the tax reform. Almost 50 percent of respondents said they paid higher taxes this year than last.
Less than 20 percent said their taxes were lower, the survey said.
Affluent households were more likely to complain about the tax legislation, the survey said. A higher-than-average number of people living on the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountain states said they paid higher income taxes because of the reform.
About the same number of respondents, 48 percent, hired outside help to prepare their returns for both years, the survey said.
