Washington ? Half of Americans say the overall taxes they pay — federal, state and local — have gone up during the past three years, more than triple the number who feel they’ve gone down, an Associated Press poll found.

“Every time you turn around, there’s a new gasoline tax, more property taxes, a library tax — because they don’t have enough money,” said Tom Artley, 52, a supervisor at a manufacturing plant in Williamsport, Pa. He was referring to increasing financial problems faced by many cities and states.

“I’d like to retire in the next five years,” Artley said. “It’s scary for people like me who are going to be living on a fixed income.”

The perception that taxes have not gone down may cause many people to have a lukewarm attitude toward tax cuts.

By almost a 2-1 margin, Americans prefer balancing the nation’s budget to cutting taxes, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Sixty-one percent chose balancing the budget while 36 percent chose tax cuts when they were asked which was more important.

As the tax deadline of April 15 approached, many felt their tax burden had been increasing. About half in the poll, 49 percent, said their overall tax burden — including federal, state and local taxes — had gone up over the past three years. That’s almost four times the 13 percent in the poll who said their overall taxes had gone down.

Even when it comes to federal taxes, most in the public don’t feel those taxes have gone down over the past three years. Twenty-five percent in the poll said their federal taxes had gone up during that time, while 43 percent said they had stayed the same.

Among those most likely to say their federal taxes have gone down are investors and the wealthy.

Both the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation and the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities have concluded that the federal tax burden is easing for the average family. The Tax Foundation suggests that federal income taxes are the lowest for Americans in almost four decades.

Yet the perception of many that they’re paying more overall is no surprise to Iris Lav, deputy director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“Federal tax cuts largely benefit higher income people,” Lav said. “In the meantime, people face tax increases on sales, cigarettes, gasoline.”

For 73-year-old Bonnie Shoemaker of Fort Morgan, Colo., the choice between tax cuts and balancing the budget is a tough one.

“We all need money to live on,” she said. “But I think we ought to concentrate on balancing the budget.”

Opinion was mixed on whether the wealthiest Americans should have to give up the tax cuts they’ve gotten over the past three years. Just over half, 53 percent, said they want the elimination of recent tax cuts for people who earn more than $200,000 a year, while 45 percent said they want those cuts to remain in place.

The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,001 adults was taken March 19-21 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.