With taxes front and center this week in the U.S. presidential campaign, 50% of Americans still see tax increases as bad for the economy and an identical percentage favor a tax policy focused on economic growth rather than fairness.

In a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, 43% prefer a tax policy based on making sure that everyone pays their fair share. Overall, those numbers reflect a very slight shift in favor of a growth-oriented tax policy. Three weeks ago, 47% preferred a tax code emphasizing economic growth while 44% held the opposite view.

But, resistance to tax increases is far from absolute--48% say they would vote for a candidate who raised taxes only on the rich instead of one who opposed all tax increases. That’s unchanged from the prior survey. But now just 36% favor a candidate who promises to oppose all tax increases, down 5% from the earlier survey.

Earlier this month, 59% said tax cuts help the economy, but now just 51% hold that view. The number who think tax increases hurt the economy has held steady at 50%

In another Rasmussen Reports survey late last month, 52% of Americans said the federal government does not need additional tax revenue. Even more (57%) said all tax increases should be approved by the voters. Only 30% opposed the latter.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has proposed tax increases for those earning more than $250,000 a year but on Monday pledged that those earning less than that “will not see your taxes go up under an Obama administration.” He defined the middle class as anyone making less than $250,000 annually.

Obama also reiterated his support for raising the income level – now up to $102,000 – on which Social Security taxes are assessed. He argues that this will make those who earn more pay more.

His Republican opponent, John McCain, while reiterating his opposition to tax increases, on Sunday said he is willing to put the proposal for higher payroll taxes for Social Security “on the table” for discussion. “If we’re going to reach a bipartisan agreement,” he said on ABC’s “This Week,” “we all have to sit down together with everything on the table.”

McCain repeated his belief that big reductions in federal spending must come first, but some conservatives on Monday criticized the Republican candidate for seeming to move away from his opposition to tax increases of any kind. Famously, the first President Bush backed away from a pledge of no new taxes with a similar comment about putting everything on the table, and that decision is thought by many to have played a big part in his failure to get re-elected.

Forty-six percent (46%) believe taxes will go up if Obama is elected and 23% say that will happen with a President McCain.

The idea of “taxing the rich” – and the Republicans’ alleged failure to do so -- has been a consistent Democratic political mantra for a number of years now, and that partisan split is seen in the new survey. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans prefer a candidate who promised to oppose all tax increases, while 66% of Democrats favor a candidate who would raise taxes only on the rich. Among unaffiliated voters, 34% support a candidate opposed to tax increases, but 47% prefer one focused on taxing the rich.

The gap is narrower but similar on the question of growth versus fairness, with 56% of Republicans saying a tax policy that helps the economy grow is more important that one that makes sure everyone pays their fair share. But 51% of Democrats take the other tack. Fifty-four percent (54%) of unaffiliated voters support growth polices versus 38% who favor tax fairness.

Both are close to agreement, however, when asked about their own taxes: 52% of Republicans and 48% of Democrats say they pay more than their fair share. Only about a third of each party’s voters believe that they do not pay their fair share of taxes.

Voters trust Democrats over Republicans on seven of 10 critical issues, including the economy which is the number one concern in this election cycle. For voters not affiliated with either party, 45% trust the Democrats more on this issue, while 29% trust the GOP more.

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