Poll: Majority support taxing wealthier Americans

A new national poll suggests that most Americans support raising taxes on people making over $250,000 per year as part of a deal to prevent the country from falling off the fiscal cliff.

But an ABC News/Washington Post survey released Wednesday morning also indicates other proposals to reduce the nation's massive federal debt, such as limiting the deductions people can claim on their federal income taxes, and raising the age for Medicare, are far less popular.

Sixty percent of Americans questioned in the poll say they back higher taxes on high earners, with 37 percent opposed. According to national exit polls from this month's presidential election, an identical 60 percent said taxes should be raised on incomes over $250,000.

The new poll indicates a partisan divide on the question, with 73 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independent voters supporting the tax increase, with nearly six in 10 Republicans opposed.

According to the survey, 44 percent are in favor of new limitations on federal income tax deductions, with 49 percent opposed. And just three in 10 support raising the age for Medicare from 65 to 67, with two-thirds not favoring such a move.

The ABC News/Washington Post Poll was conducted Nov. 20-25, with 1,016 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday indicated that two-thirds of Americans supported a deal to avert the fiscal cliff that included both spending cuts and tax increases.