MPR Poll Results and Methodology: Tax plan and Gov. Pawlenty's performance

QUESTION: The Minnesota Senate is considering a proposal to raise income taxes on individuals who make more than $141,000 per year and couples who make more than $250,000 per year. The money would be used primarily to increase spending for education. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Option	State	Men	Women	DFL	GOP	IND
Support	69%	60%	78%	86%	48%	71%
Oppose	25%	34%	16%	6%	46%	25%
Undecided	6%	6%	6%	8%	6%	4%

QUESTION: The Minnesota House is considering a plan to raise income taxes on individuals who make more than $226,000 per year and couples who make more than $400,000 per year. The money would primarily be used to lower property taxes. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Option	State	Men	Women	DFL	GOP	IND
Support	72%	63%	81%	88%	55%	70%
Oppose	22%	31%	13%	7%	38%	23%
Undecided	6%	6%	6%	5%	7%	7%

QUESTION: In 2005, the state increased fees on cigarettes by 75 cents a pack. Do you support or oppose further increasing them to raise money for state programs and services?

Option	State	Men	Women	DFL	GOP	IND
Support	60%	53%	67%	65%	55%	58%
Oppose	33%	42%	25%	29%	36%	37%
Undecided	7%	5%	8%	6%	9%	5%

QUESTION: If the state had a surplus, which one of the following taxes would you most support cutting? (Order rotated)

Option	Pctg.
Property tax	44%
Personal income tax	30%
Sales tax	10%
Corporate income tax	3%
Alcohol tax	3%
Cigarette tax	2%
None	3%
Not sure	5%

QUESTION: In terms of the quality of life and the quality of government services you receive, would you say that the taxes you currently pay in Minnesota are:

Option	Pctg.
Much too high	27%
A little too high	33%
About right	31%
Too low	8%
Not sure	1%

QUESTION: How would you rate the performance of Tim Pawlenty as governor?

Option	State	Men	Women	DFL	GOP	IND
Excellent	23%	27%	19%	6%	46%	16%
Good	32%	34%	30%	23%	38%	36%
Fair	25%	22%	28%	37%	12%	27%
Poor	17%	15%	19%	30%	2%	17%
Undecided	3%	2%	4%	4%	2%	4%

---

HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED

The Mason-Dixon Minnesota Public Radio poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. from May 7 through May 9, 2007. A total of 625 registered Minnesota voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All stated they vote regularly in state elections.

Those interviewed were selected by the random variation of the last four digits of telephone numbers. A cross-section of exchanges was utilized in order to ensure an accurate reflection of the state. Quotas were assigned to reflect voter turn-out by county.

The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 4 percentage points. This means that there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if the entire population were sampled. The margin for error is higher for any subgroup, such as a regional or gender grouping.

SAMPLE FIGURES:

REGION

Men 305 (49%)

Women 320(51%)

Hennepin/Ramsey Counties	210 interviews
Twin Cities Suburbs	150 interviews
Rochester/Southeast	70 interviews
Southwest Minnesota	60 interviews
Northwest Minnesota	65 interviews
Duluth/Northeast	70 interviews