The Hill, Hill Poll: Likely Voters Prefer Lower Individual, Business Tax Rates:

Three-quarters of likely voters believe the nation’s top earners should pay lower, not higher, tax rates, according to a new poll for The Hill.

The big majority opted for a lower tax bill when asked to choose specific rates; precisely 75% said the right level for top earners was 30% or below.

The current rate for top earners is 35%. Only 4% thought it was appropriate to take 40%, which is approximately the level that President Obama is seeking from January 2013 onward.

The Hill Poll also found that 73% of likely voters believe corporations should pay a lower rate than the current 35%, as both the White House and Republicans push plans to lower rates.

The new data seem to run counter to several polls that have found support for raising taxes on high-income earners. In an Associated Press-GfK poll released Friday, 65% said they favored President Obama’s “Buffett Rule” that millionaires should pay at least 30% of their income. And a Pew poll conducted in June found 66% of adults favored raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 as a way to tackle the deficit.

But The Hill poll found that a dramatically different picture emerges when voters are asked to specify the “most appropriate” rates. … The data could indicate a challenge to Obama’s push to increase taxes on the wealthy. …

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support lower tax rates for the wealthy, but voters in both parties solidly supported lower rates compared to current law. Eighty-one percent of Republicans favored tax rates below current levels, compared to 70% of Democrats.

Update:  Think Progress, Did The Hill’s New Poll Actually Show That Americans Want ‘A Lower Tax Bill’ For The Rich? (Hint: No)