Just 21 percent of Americans say they'll spend their tax rebates. (ABCNEWS.com)

Spending Plans Linked to Income

The rebates are estimated to return about $50 billion to taxpayers. Supporters of the move say it should boost the sluggish economy, while critics say the stimulus won't be large enough to make much difference.

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Higher-income Americans are far more likely to spend their refunds, according to the survey. Middle- and lower-income taxpayers are more apt to use the money to pay bills. Men are more likely than women to spend their rebates. But majorities across all demographic groups plan to do something with the money other than spend it on new purchases.

Will Spend the Rebate
Earn Less Than $20,000	15 percent
Earn More Than $75,000	32 percent
Men	26 percent
Women	17 percent

Americans give Bush a 58 percent approval rating for his work on tax cuts, and trust him more than the Democrats in Congress to handle the issue, albeit by a slim margin. At the same time, 54 percent think the tax cut will disproportionately benefit the wealthy, and Americans by a 2-to-1 margin say they'd have preferred to have the tax-cut money spent on popular social programs.

Nor is the tax cut widely seen as an economic panacea. About one-third of Americans think it will be good for the economy, while 50 percent think it won't make much difference.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone May 31-June 3 via a random national sample of 1,004 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Field work was done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.