Part of the answer may well be that Democrats are broadly supportive of the idea that government can and should collect taxes in order to provide services for the American public while Republicans and independents are more skeptical about giving money to the federal government to spend.

Another part may be that the tax question winds up being read by partisans as a broader test of their feelings about the federal government. Democrats, with President Obama in the White House, are more likely to feel favorably (or at least express a favorable opinion) about the government. Republicans are not.

Whatever the reason, the data is intriguing given that President Obama will release his budget proposal today even as the two parties continue to circle one another in the seemingly endless dance of how to solve (or at least address) the nation’s debt problems.