Taxpayers do not plan to spend rebates: poll

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans who will receive rebate checks in a U.S. stimulus plan aimed at fueling the economy intend to save the money or pay down debt, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released on Wednesday.

Only 18 percent of respondents said they will spend the money, while 34 percent intend to save it and 31 percent intend to apply it to existing debts, the Los Angeles Times reported.

U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month signed a $152 billion economic stimulus bill package that includes billions of dollars in tax rebates due to be paid beginning in May, as well as incentives for businesses to buy new equipment.

The package includes tax rebates of up to $600 per individual earning $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less and $1,200 per couple plus $300 per child. Businesses would be able to deduct half the costs of purchases of new equipment.

John Silvia, chief economist for Wachovia Corp, told the Los Angeles Times that an analysis of the 2001 tax rebates suggested that about two-thirds of such rebate checks went into new purchases. The poll results are "pretty much a flip" of that, he told the newspaper.

"It looks like you're going to get a slightly more conservative consumer than you had in the past and you're going to see less stimulus kick in than you saw in the past," Silvia was quoted as saying.

The poll also found that Americans are deeply pessimistic about the economy, the report said.

About 71 percent believe the economy is doing badly, 61 percent believe it is already in a recession and about 77 percent said they expected the economy to be about the same or in worse shape six months from now, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The national poll of 1,408 adults was taken between Thursday and Monday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Doina Chiacu)