Most Americans say they pay too much in taxes. Here's what the data shows.

MoneyWatch Most Americans say they pay too much in taxes. Here's what the data shows. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Aimee Picchi Aimee Picchi Associate Managing Editor, MoneyWatch Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports. Read Full Bio Aimee Picchi April 14, 2026 / 3:47 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google As the April 15 tax filing deadline nears, most Americans say they believe they are paying more than their fair share — a sentiment that is strongest among the nation's top earners, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center.That belief has become more widespread in recent years, despite new tax cuts for everyone from seniors to tipped workers, Pew found. Many Americans are also getting bigger refunds in 2026, with the typical refund up about 11% compared with a year earlier, IRS data shows. The bigger refunds reflect new tax breaks under the "big, beautiful bill" enacted in 2025.About 68% of top earners — defined as households with total annual income of more than $155,600  — say they pay too much in taxes, the highest share of any income bracket, according to Pew. Only about one-third of those polled say their tax burden is appropriate.Complaints about paying taxes are nothing new. Still, the level of discontent appears to be on the rise: In 2026, about 60% of adults said their taxes are too high, up from about 51% in 2019, Pew found. An April 10 survey from Gallup found a similar share — 59% — say they pay too much in taxes.That increase may reflect more households feeling the strain of inflation, which has remained elevated since the pandemic, according to experts. And it stands to reason that paying taxes on top of rising costs...