Consider the impact of interpreting “I got some back” answers as being negative entries in the summation (though I hope the survey would put up a big asterisk about this when reporting the results!).
People took the question as being about federal income taxes, and that value is (incorrecty) compared to all taxes at all levels: social security taxes, state sales taxes, etc.
True. A few other possible factors:
Consider the impact of interpreting “I got some back” answers as being negative entries in the summation (though I hope the survey would put up a big asterisk about this when reporting the results!).
People took the question as being about federal income taxes, and that value is (incorrecty) compared to all taxes at all levels: social security taxes, state sales taxes, etc.