Today, Explained - The Great American Tax Revolt

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Across the country, Americans of all political stripes are asking themselves: Why should I have to pay taxes? This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King. A protester outside the Internal Revenue Service offices in Manhattan. Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, so we're not paying taxes this year, right? Until the Pentagon passes one damn audit, we shouldn't pay any more taxes. People don't want to pay taxes anymore because they don't trust the way the government is spending and tracking our money. Americans are fed up with paying taxes, and I know, I know, but hear me out. Americans are extra fed up with paying taxes lately, according to some Gallup polling and some posting. But are we being short-sighted? I think that it's important to have a government. I think that humans tried anarchy for quite a long time, and it didn't work so well.

A lot of people got hit over the head with rocks. We didn't have a whole lot of economic development. Almost everyone agrees that the United States should have a military to protect it from foreign invasion, that we should have law enforcement, firefighting, schools, etc. Anti-taxers, and where this could all be heading, coming up on today, Explained. Support for Today Explain comes from Atio, the AI CRM for modern teams. Atio connects to your email, calendar calls, product data, billing data, and more. So your CRM is always complete, always enriched, and always in sync.

Bye, bye, bye. If you want a CRM built for how you want to work, you can check out Atio. You can go to atio.com slash Today Explain and you get 15% off your first year. That's ATTIO.com slash today Explain. This episode is brought to you by Tellus Online Security. Oh, tax season is the worst. You mean hack season? Sorry, what?

Yeah, cybercriminals love tax forms. But I've got Tellus Online Security. It helps protect against identity theft and financial fraud so I can stress less during tax season or any season. Plan started just $12 a month. Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply.

This is today explained. My name's Eric Levitts and I'm a senior correspondent for Vox where I write about politics and the economy. All right. So tomorrow is tax day. And Americans are feeling some type of way about their taxes this year, huh? Yeah, I would say that we as a country are in a pretty tax negative sort of mood. You know, Gallup has this long-running survey data where they ask Americans, is the amount of money that you pay in taxes, federal taxes, too high? about right or too low. And for a decent chunk of the 2010s,

a plurality of Americans said it was about right. Huh. But that changed right around the pandemic. You know, in 2020, the share of Americans who said their tax burden was too high was 46%. By last year, that had jumped to 59%. And it's basically a continuous jump right after the pandemic.

I'm a 20-year-old barber and I owe the IRS $30,000 in taxes this year. I need to come on here and vent about taxes because I literally owe $3,400. What? Where does my money go? Why don't I have a say? Like, Social Security, why can't I opt out for that? And I think that what makes this, you know, really remarkable is that the Americans' discontent is not tracking the objective level of federal taxes.

So in 2025, Americans are about as upset with their tax birds. as in modern history. And yet at the same time, the actual amount of taxes that they're paying, the rates that they're paying, are the lowest in modern history or just about. All right. So who is upset about taxes? Is this a red America revolt? Is this a blue America revolt?

Yeah. So I think that obviously the Republican Party is always more hostile to taxes and you know, Republicans, conservatives are going to express more aversion to them in polls. But what I think we've really seen what's really significant is that both coalitions are trending in the same direction. You know, Democrats aren't quite as far along as Republicans are, but they're both moving towards more hostility towards taxes. Very interesting. Okay, so let's discuss what Americans are doing about our hostility. Let's talk first about predominantly red states, Republican-led states. What's going on?

Yeah, so since COVID, we've basically seen red states wage war on property taxes, especially. $18 billion in property tax relief is coming for Texas taxpayers up to the last. The average reduction in property taxes for Idaho homeowners is approximately 18%. Connie Werner is raking in the saving. As a homeowner whose primary residence is in North Dakota, Connie will get $500 back on her property taxes next year. Now Republicans are really building on that. So this year, in Florida, state legislators have advanced a constitutional amendment that would phase out all property taxes for non-school purposes.

Is it your property or not? Just for being on your property, you've got to write a check to the government every year. Wow. All right. So that's at the state level. I wonder about what's happening at the national level. So we had the big, beautiful bill. The Trump administration was clear that it hoped that, you know, come tax refund time, Americans, especially wealthy Americans, wealthier Americans, would be very happy with the results.

So, when you get your tax refund, think about what a wonderful president you have. No tax on tips. No tax on Social Security for our great seniors. No tax on overtime. Don't spend all this money in one place. what's been up from the White House? Yeah, so like you said last year, the Trump administration, along with Republicans in Congress, enacted a tax cut bill that costs well over $3 trillion. Much of that was extending the tax cuts that Trump had enacted during his first term in office, but he also created new tax breaks on top of those, including the much Ballyhooed

no tax on tips, which Democrats have subsequently embraced as well. And, you know, I think that that's really indicative of this larger pattern that's kind of defined American tax policy in the 21st century, which is a Republican president gets in. George W. Bush in the early 2000s cuts taxes across the board. We must give overcharged taxpayers some of their own money back. Eventually, Democrats get back into power. They preserve the tax cuts on everybody, but the rich.

In exchange for a temporary extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, we're also able to protect key tax cuts for middle-class families. Another Republican comes in and they cut everybody's taxes down even further, but especially for the rich. We enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history. And then Democrat comes in, preserves the new baseline that the Republicans have set for everybody, but the wealthy. Come on, folks.

And so there's this ratchet down over the 21st century where what is considered kind of the normal, bipartisan conventional wisdom about how much middle-class Americans should pay in taxes keeps going down. All right. So Democrats, as you point out, historically less hostile to taxes than Republicans, and historically like the kind of pro-government policies that require people paying taxes. So what are.

Democrats up to. Yeah, so, you know, historically, as you say, Democrats are the party of big government, quote, unquote, you know, there's been a really a contradictory sort of evolution within the party over the past couple decades where Democrats have kind of gotten more ambitious about what they want to do in terms of increasing government spending on social safety net programs. but they're also increasingly terrified of calling for taxes on anybody but the rich. We impose surtaxes on people who make more than a million dollars a year and billionaires, while we provide tax relief to hardworking Americans. No household in America should pay federal income tax on their first $75,000 of earnings.

Keep your money. This is in part because the, base of the Democratic Party has become increasingly affluent. You know, in the Trump era, college-educated voters shifted very strongly towards the Democratic Party, while non-college educated voters shifted towards the Republicans. And so Democrats have never been more reliant on the upper middle class for votes than they are today. And that's led to things like, you know, under Obama, the Democratic Party's pledge was that it wouldn't raise taxes on anybody making less than $250,000 a year.

By the time Biden comes into office, that's $400,000. And so, yeah, there's also been in this particular moment in 2026, this other smaller, but interesting development of the emergence of a kind of anti-Trump, anti-tax resistance movement, or at least some resistance influencers have started arguing that anyone who pays their taxes, is funding Donald Trump's wars and ICE detention facilities and that we all therefore have a civic responsibility to cheat the IRS. I'm just really glad and thankful to not be participating in this sham of an American political system and internal revenue system.

Because the government is using my tax dollars to build concentration camps for my neighbors, and so I don't feel like giving them my tax money. Tax strike 2026. Spread the word. All right. So everybody is finding a reason why. they should not have to pay taxes. What happened? Why are we also irate? You know, I think there are a few things. One, post-COVID inflation made people really sensitive to their costs. At the same time, also the post-COVID boom and the inflation led to an increase in property values. You know, as the price level goes up, the value of homes go up.

and that potentially increased people's property tax assessments and increase their nominal property taxes. You know, but also, I guess, as we kind of referenced with these, this, this resistance movement to withhold your taxes in order to stick it to Trump, there's this declining trust in our government, and especially declining trust in the other party. And so, you know, fundamentally, if you think that one of your nation's major political parties, which tends to be in power, you know, about half the time, is morally abominable and is going to do, you know, absolutely outrageous things with the government funds available to them, then you might not want to give them more of your paycheck. All right. So historically, in our part of the world, tax revolts are something to, on occasion, take seriously, right? 1773, the Tea Party in Boston and then later on some other tea parties.

So I'm inclined to take this seriously that everybody's agitated about paying taxes and some states are saying we're going to make you pay less. Where do you think all of this is going? How serious is this? So I think we're on this real collision course where both of the major parties are going to need to confront the fact that they have essentially taken a bunch of positions that do not mathematically work with each other, that Democrats are really committed to expanding the social safety net grammatically, and yet they have no appetite for broad-based tax increases and, in fact, are now flirting with large tax cuts. They have this tension between they want to build the welfare state. They're increasingly reliant on upper middle class voters who they don't want to tax. Republicans, they are increasingly

dependent on the votes of working class and older voters who value the existing social welfare state, and yet Republicans want to cut taxes more and more and more. And so over the coming decade, we're going to have to decide these two parties are going to have to decide, you know, what is it that they really value? How important is it to them to embrace this tax revolt and just keep driving revenue down? Are they willing to pay the cost? costs of that, and we're going to have to find out. Vox's Eric Levitts, when we return the last great American tax revolt.

Support for the show comes from Shopify. Every thriving business starts with a series of what-if questions, Shopify says. There's, what if I fail? But you should also consider this one. What if you don't? I like that thinking. Glass-half-full kind of thinking. There's only one way to find out, and you can make it happen with help from Shopify.

They say millions of businesses around the world rely on Shopify for e-commerce, from businesses just getting started to household name brands. It can help you with everything from payment processing to analytics to website design. You can choose from hundreds of templates to create great-looking websites. Their email and marketing tools can help you get your name out there and stay connected with customers. And if you ever need help Shopify's 24-7 award-winning customer support has got your back. I like the 24-7. That's nice. You can turn those what-ifs into a thriving business with Shopify today. You can sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com.com.

You go to Shopify.com slash explained. That's Shopify.com slash explained. Support for T. Explain comes from select quote. There's a lot of uncertainty these days. You might be looking for ways to safeguard. Your finances. One option that sometimes gets overlooked is term life insurance. Getting coverage can feel confusing and overwhelming with questions such as how much

will it cost or how much coverage do I really need? Select quote says they can simplify the process and make it more affordable. For more than 40 years, select quote says they've been the trusted name and insurance, helping over 2 million Americans obtain more than $700 billion in coverage. They say their goal is simple to help you find the term life insurance policy that fits your individual needs. They shop you save, plus they say they partner with providers offering same-day coverage of $2 million without needing to visit your doctor. Select quote says life insurance is never cheaper than it is today. You can get the right term life insurance for you for less and save more than 50% of

select quote.com slash explained. You can save more than 50% on term life insurance at selectcoat.com slash explained today to get started. That's selectbote.com slash explained. Trying to complete your daily tasks can feel like driving along the highway, on empty, without a gas station in sight. If you're having a hard time finishing your day strong, then you might want to check out IM8's daily ultimate essentials. It's a daily all-in-one wellness drink that can give your body the support it needs without juggling a bunch of different supplements. IMAID's daily ultimate essentials is a go-to for getting the benefits of 16 different supplements in one tasty drink. Co-founded by David Beckham and crafted with insight from experts at Mayo Clinic, Cedar Sinai, and a former NASA chief scientist,

it can simplify your wellness routine and make it easier to support your health. This drink is loaded with 92 nutrient-rich ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, CO-Q-10 MSM and pre-pro and postbiotics. It's designed to help you feel good from the inside out. Feel your best self every day with IM8. Go to IM8health.com slash explained and use code explained for a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. That's IM number 8, h-e-a-l-t-h-com slash explained, code explained.

For a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. IM8Health.com slash explained. Code explained. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Now, a spot announcement. Thank you, Spot. Here we go.

Explained. My name is Isaac Martin. I am a professor of urban studies and planning at the University of California, San Diego. All right. So we learned in the first half of the show that Americans are in a bit of a mood about taxes. We don't want to pay them. This is not the first time that this has happened. And you, in fact, studied. One of the last times that we went through this, it was in the 1970s. What was going on back then? There was what we call now the property tax revolt, a major sort of grassroots movement of protest against local property taxes. It was a nationwide thing. It happened in communities all around the U.S. From the nation's capital, the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research presents today's topic, taxpayers revolt. But people really remember the events in California because Californians at that time in 1978

amended their constitution to limit the property tax. There are many who believe this is the beginning of something that will go far beyond California. And it is true that 20-odd states already have something in the works more or less similar to Proposition 13. And that tax limitation, which they called Proposition 13, then became non-a-old. national news and had all kinds of impacts in and outside of California. Proposition 13, I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years. I remember Proposition 13, actually. I remember it being like a big topic of conversation. But not everyone will know of its history. Why does Prop 13 matter? Why is it like such a big deal?

Proposition 13 is a big deal for a few reasons. The first is that it really very dramatically changed the state's tax structure. It did a few things all at the same time. First, it said, local governments can not levy any property tax in excess of 1%. So it capped the property tax rate at 1%. The second and more important thing it did is it put an annual cap on the amount that the assessed value of your property for tax purposes could increase from year to year. So even if your home was, you know, appreciating in value very rapidly, as far as the, you know, the local tax assessor was concerned, it wasn't actually going out more than 2% per year in value.

And that, among other things, constrain the finances of local governments in California, but it also gave property owners a tax break that grew over time the longer they stayed in their homes. It was the beginning of a real cascade of similar changes to California law, including later initiatives in the 1980s that said that tax break you have on your home because you got in early, you can pass that down to your children. You can pass that down to your grandchildren. That's one reason why Peter Shrag, who was the editor of the Sacramento B for many years, said in the 1990s, listen, we now have a hereditary aristocracy of property in California. The story of Proposition 13 in California matters for at least a couple of reasons. One of those

reasons is that it's a real cautionary tale that you can really lose something very valuable if you just allow your anger at taxes to take over and you don't think carefully about what to do with that anger. As I understand it, it's a story of sort of the simplest, worst solution to a real crisis. Where does this thing, Prop 13, where did it come from? First off, property taxes have always been a mess in America. Property taxation is the oldest tax we have in the United States. It predates the Republic. And until the middle decades of the 20th century, the property tax really was still being administered as if we were in the horse and buggy era. So the people who were in charge of figuring out how much your house or your business was worth for the purpose of taxing it,

they were political animals. And they didn't tend to have much expertise in actually appraising property. Instead, what they would do is just kind of write down from year to year, oh, we wrote down this number for your home last year. Let's write it down again this year. Let's see here. In 1949, we said it was 10,000. It's $1950.

So how about $10,000? So they were giving away these kinds of informal tax breaks to people in a way that was often also very political. They might trade a low assessment for bribes. They very commonly traded low assessments for votes. Thanks for the tip, sir. And I can count on you in November. And in the 1960s, led by California, many states then began to reform. how they administered the property tax.

They brought in computers, they professionalized assessment. And suddenly, for the first time, many, many property owners, especially homeowners in the United States, started to get taxed on the values, the actual values of their homes for the first time. Oh.

And it turned out they didn't like that. It was, you know, a cause of an incredible freak out. People petitioning to abolish the property tax. One of the most colorful figures in the movement was a real crank named Howard Jarvis. The government is filled with moochers and loafers right up to their ears, and they have a great idea. The object of a lot of them is to get the job and sit there until they get a pension. And in the meantime, they don't move in any direction.

Who was a Los Angeles entrepreneur, kind of serial entrepreneur, who first in the late 1960s campaigned to abolish the property tax and got nowhere with it. But did get, you know, enough traction that he decided it was worth continuing to try. Jarvis found inspiration for his Prop 13 campaign in the 1976 Academy Award-winning film Network. I was mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore. And so then he teamed up with a used car salesman named Paul Gann and took inspiration actually from the Los Angeles property assessor who was also arguing for property tax reforms, a guy named Phil.

Watson and wrote in a limitation to a state constitutional amendment to limit taxes that became Proposition 13. Here in California in the primary tomorrow, people have the rare and no doubt pleasing opportunity to vote their taxes down. And they collected more signatures than any ballot initiative in the history of California, and in June 1978, a majority of the voters went for it. We have proven that here in California that we the people, not the power, Allotations are still the boss.

Why did a majority of voters go for it? Was it hard to convince people? Jarvis wrote later in his memoir that the best argument was simply to go up to people and say, sign this. It will lower your property taxes. Hmm. All right. So the upshot is what exactly?

What happens after voters say, yeah, this is what we want? Quality of services in many cases declined. So it's clear, for example, that there was a shift in, uh, fireproof. protection away from professional fire departments towards volunteer fire departments in some parts of the state. It hurt the schools. School finances continued to, of course, increase in California as it has elsewhere in the U.S. But California used to be at the top in terms of sort of quality of education and primary and secondary education and in terms of school spending. And now it's definitely not.

Many critics say Prop 13 is to blame for the decline in funding for California schools. you see pupil teacher ratios start to skyrocket in the years immediately after 1978. It has hurt the quality of infrastructure, potholes in the roads, response times of first responders. It has shifted the state tax structure onto income taxes, which means that the tax system in California is really swinging. In a boom, a lot of money might flow into the state's coffers and in a recession. the state budget really suffers especially. During the financial crisis, this meant that local governments that no longer could rely on a lot of property tax revenue

were especially vulnerable to bankruptcy. Today, San Bernardino leaders are expected to declare a fiscal emergency. And good morning, sunrising on a new day in Stockton, but the local newspaper headline pretty much says it all bankrupt. It has also created all kinds of unfairness. new unfairness, rather unlike the old system. So now you might actually pay a lot more tax than somebody else in your neighborhood who, again, has an identical home worth the same amount of money, just because they bought their home earlier than you did. And they might agree that

that's unfair, but they might not vote to change it because it's an unfairness that allows them to stay in their home. You're aware that Americans are growing irritable about paying taxes. And I wonder whether you think it's fair to look at California and see a warning about where the rest of the country might be headed. I do. I mean, I think the history of California really teaches us that you can want your government for free, but you can't get it for free. The lesson here is that we really value and should value a lot of the public services, public goods that our governments provide. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't operate efficiently. but it does mean that, you know, when you think about how much you're willing to pay for them,

you also have to pay attention to what you're willing to give up. Isaac Martin of UCSD. Miles Bryan produced today. Jolie Myers edited, Patrick Boyden, David Tadishore, engineered, and Gabriel Donatov checked the facts. I'm Noelle King. She's today explained. Thank you.