We Asked People What They Know About Taxes. See If You Know The Answers

A new poll shows that only one-third of Americans know that the rich's rates have not climbed — in fact, the top tax rate has fallen off sharply over the last few decades. More than 4 in 10 Americans believe the rich's tax rates have increased over roughly the last four decades, and the rest said they didn't know. That's one finding of the Ipsos poll conducted for NPR, which delved into what Americans know and what they believe is wrong with the U.S. tax code.

Americans tend to think the richer pay more now than they did nearly 40 years ago

In 1980, the top marginal income tax rate was 70 percent. Today, it's 39.6 percent (something about half of Americans know, per our poll).

However, 44 percent of Americans believe that rate is higher today than it was back then — a plurality