Survey: Wealthy pay too little taxes

WASHINGTON -- As the income gap between rich and poor widens, a majority of Americans say the growing divide is bad for the country and believe wealthy people are paying too little in taxes, according to a new survey.

The Pew Research Center poll, released yesterday, points to a particular challenge for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose party's policies are viewed by a wide majority as favoring the rich.

The poll found many believe the rich are intelligent and hardworking but also greedy and less honest than the average American. Nearly 58 percent say the rich don't pay enough taxes, while 26 percent believe the rich pay their fair share and 8 percent say they pay too much.

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. This

The upper tier was more likely to say they are more financially secure now than 10 years ago, 62 percent, compared towith 44 percent for those who identified themselves as middle class and 29 percent for the lower class. They are less likely to report problems in paying rent or mortgage, losing a job, paying for medical care or other bills and cutting back on household expenses.

The survey involved phone interviews with 2,508 adults from July 16-26 and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

-- AP