Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about tax fairness perception, as well as practical tips on designing such surveys. You can generate your own conversational survey in seconds with Specific—no hassle, just smart questions ready to go.
Best open-ended questions for a citizen survey about tax fairness perception
Open-ended questions let citizens express their honest opinions in detail, surfacing nuanced insights you’d miss with simple yes/no choices. Use them when you want to uncover diverse perspectives or trigger follow-up conversation.
How fair do you believe the current tax system is, and why?
What changes would make tax collection feel more just for you?
How do you think tax money should be spent differently to improve public trust?
In your experience, who benefits most from the current tax system?
What is the biggest concern you have about how your tax dollars are used?
How would you explain the purpose of taxes to someone unfamiliar with them?
Have you ever felt like you pay more than your fair share of taxes? Tell us more.
What information or transparency would improve your trust in the tax system?
How should the government address perceptions of unfairness in taxation?
What role do you see for citizens in ensuring tax fairness?
This approach draws out detailed stories, motivations, and potential blind spots in the system. For example, since only 49% of Americans in 2023 believed their federal taxes are fair while 47% disagreed, open-ended responses can help clarify the “why” behind these split perceptions. [3]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for a citizen survey about tax fairness perception
Single-select multiple-choice questions are your go-to when you need structured, quantifiable data. They’re perfect as conversation starters—citizens often find it easier to choose an option, which you can then dig into further with open-ended or follow-up questions for deeper understanding.
Question: How satisfied are you with how your tax dollars are spent by the government?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Question: Compared to others, do you believe you pay...
More than your fair share
Your fair share
Less than your fair share
Unsure
Question: Which aspect of the tax system do you trust the least?
How tax dollars are spent
How tax rates are set
Enforcement of tax laws
Other
When to followup with "why?" If a citizen selects “Very dissatisfied” with government spending, follow up with “Why do you feel dissatisfied?” The context gathered here can reveal whether the issue is lack of transparency, perceived waste, or something else.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Use the “Other” option when your answer choices can’t possibly cover every citizen’s unique perspective—then follow up to capture their reasoning. This often uncovers emerging issues or innovative ideas.
These options help you quantify broad opinions—for instance, two-thirds of U.S. taxpayers in a 2024 poll say they pay “too much”[1]—while also opening the door for richer, contextual insight.
Why an NPS-style question fits surveys on tax fairness perception
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is not just for customer satisfaction; it’s a powerful single-question format that gauges overall sentiment and likelihood of recommendation. For tax fairness perception, you could ask:
On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to agree that the current tax system is fair for most citizens?
This condenses perception into a quantifiable score, making it easier to spot shifts over time or after policy changes. And just like a classic NPS, you can add an open-ended follow-up: “What is the main reason for your rating?” See how this works instantly with our NPS survey creator.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions make your survey conversational, helping you collect context that would otherwise fall through the cracks. We explain this feature in detail in our guide to automatic AI followup questions.
With Specific’s AI-driven surveys, follow-ups are tailored in real time—so if a citizen’s answer is ambiguous, the AI asks just the right clarifying questions. Let’s see what happens when you skip follow-ups vs. let AI handle them:
Citizen: “I think taxes are kind of unfair.”
AI follow-up: “Can you share a specific reason why you feel the tax system is unfair to you or others?”
If we don’t probe further, we have a vague complaint. With a targeted follow-up, we capture actionable data.
How many followups to ask? In most cases, 2-3 targeted follow-ups are enough to go deep without burning out the respondent. You can always set a skip-to-next rule once you feel you’ve got the context you need—Specific lets you configure this for the perfect balance.
This makes it a conversational survey—each answer is met with curiosity and context, rather than silence.
Easy AI analysis, even for open responses: With AI-powered survey analysis tools, you can effortlessly spot trends, themes, and outliers—even if your survey yields lots of unstructured text. It’s streamlined and efficient, never overwhelming.
These smart follow-up questions are a game-changer. Try generating a personalized survey to see the difference for yourself.
How to prompt ChatGPT or other AI to generate great tax fairness perception survey questions
When working with AI survey makers like Specific, the quality of your prompt directly shapes the relevance and depth of your survey. Here are examples:
Start simple to get the ball rolling:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about tax fairness perception.
But for better results, give more context. For example, add your country, citizen demographics, or particular goals for your survey:
We’re a municipal research team surveying local residents aged 20–65 about perceptions of federal and local tax fairness after recent policy changes. Generate 10 open-ended questions to explore specific concerns and suggestions.
Want to organize your questions? Next prompt:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Once you have categories, go deeper:
Generate 10 questions focused on ‘trust in government spending’, ‘personal tax burden’, and ‘suggested improvements to the tax system’.
The more context and specifics you give, the more useful your survey will be.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey feels like a real conversation, not a static form. Respondents interact with a smart AI that picks up on what they say, asks clarifying questions, and adapts to their input on the fly. This is a huge leap from traditional survey creation, where you have to anticipate every possible answer ahead of time.
Manual Survey Creation | AI-generated Conversational Survey |
|---|---|
Time-consuming; every question & follow-up is hand-crafted | Rapid; AI generates context-aware questions in seconds |
Rigid; hard to adapt mid-conversation | Flexible; adapts follow-ups automatically in real time |
Answers often incomplete or unclear | Rich insights from tailored follow-ups |
Analyzing text data is manual and tedious | AI summarizes and categorizes instantly |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? AI survey generators push beyond the limits of templates. They craft deeply relevant questions for your exact audience, ask context-aware follow-ups, and digest open responses in real time. This means better engagement—and much more reliable insights.
Our AI survey generator and how-to guide show just how fast and smooth it can be to launch a conversational survey. The experience is best-in-class for both survey creators and citizens, maximizing honest feedback and overall ease of use.
See this tax fairness perception survey example now
Start collecting real insights that go far deeper than numbers—engage your community and make every response matter. Experience Specific’s conversational survey builder and create your own survey in seconds!