Poll: 29% of Americans approve of the GOP tax plan

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve and 53 percent disapprove of the Republican plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code, a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday indicated.

Among Republican respondents, 67 percent approve and 10 disapprove of the plan, while 6 percent of Democrats approve and 84 disapprove.

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they believe the legislation would benefit the wealthy the most, 24 percent said it would benefit the middle class the most and 5 percent said it would benefit those with low incomes the most.

Sixty-one percent said the tax plan favors the rich at the expense of the middle class.

The poll was conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4 and included phone interviews with 1,508 voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

This week, the House and Senate prepared to reconcile two different tax plans the chambers passed in previous weeks. The Senate approved its plan -- which includes a measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act mandate -- by a vote of 51-49 early Saturday. The House passed its version Nov. 15.

Congressional and White House Republicans have set a goal of Dec. 31 for the bill to become law.

The same poll gave President Donald Trump an approval rating of 35 percent and a disapproval rating of 58 percent.

"Deeply unpopular and manifestly unfit for the job. That's the harsh assessment of President Donald Trump, whose tax plan is considered built for the rich at the expense of the rest," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

A plurality of voters -- 18 percent -- said healthcare was the most important problem facing the country today. Other voters say the economy (17 percent), foreign policy (13 percent), terrorism (11 percent) and race relations (10 percent) are most important.