Joseph J. Thorndike (Director of Tax History Project and Contributing Editor, Tax Analysts) has published The Importance of Ideology, 107 Tax Notes 692 (May 9, 2005), also available on the Tax Analysts web site as Doc 2005-9529, 2005 TNT 89-6.  Here is the part of the conclusion:

If liberals are going to win their battle for progressive taxation, they need to take seriously the popular antipathy to the existing tax system. That’s not to say they should take it at face value; Americans don’t understand the system well enough to offer an informed critique of specific tax instruments. But Americans consistently voice a profound dissatisfaction with the modern tax system, and until liberals find some way to address it, they will be forever defending an indefensible system.