Meritocracy and Support for Taxation of Stock Market Returns and Redistributive Policies in the United States – Student Pilot Study

The study examines public support for taxing stock-market returns amid rising income inequality. Unequal income from equity investments constitutes a significant share of overall income inequality in the United States. Yet public opinion on taxing stock-market income—especially given its preferential treatment relative to labor income—remains understudied. This study investigates whether perceptions of risk-taking and attributions of stock-market earnings to effort versus luck shape support for taxing equity income and for broader redistributive policies.