Jeff Bezos Calls for Zero Federal Income Taxes for Lower Earners

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder. Credit: Seattle City Council / CC-BY-2.0 / Wikipedia Commons

Jeff Bezos, enforcement president of Amazon, said Wednesday that the bottommost fractional of U.S. earners should wage nary national income taxes astatine all, calling the existent strategy unreasonable for workers nether fiscal pressure.

Speaking connected CNBC’s Squawk Box from Blue Origin’s Florida facility, Bezos cited IRS information showing that radical contributes conscionable 3% of each national income taxation revenue. He said that stock should beryllium zero.

Tax Foundation analysis shows that the mean household successful the bottommost fractional reported an adjusted gross income of astir $24,500 successful 2023 and paid astir $913 successful taxes for the year. Their mean effectual complaint was 3.7%, compared to 26.3% for the apical 1% of earners, who paid astir 38% to 40% of each national income taxation collected.

From $913 to zero: The mathematics Bezos explains

Bezos utilized 2 examples to marque his case. He described a Queens, New York, healthcare idiosyncratic earning $75,000 a year, saying Washington should beryllium that idiosyncratic an apology, not a taxation bill.

Bezos made a akin statement for an Amazon worker earning astir $50,000, saying removing the taxation load would supply existent alleviation portion hardly affecting national revenue.

He said helium plans to bring the thought straight to President Donald Trump, and Elon Musk publically backed the thought online.

Not everyone agreed. New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said connected societal media that teachers successful Queens would instrumentality contented with Bezos’s remarks.

Billionaire Tom Steyer besides objected. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has separately projected authorities making the archetypal $75,000 of household income tax-free, saying it would beryllium a important assistance for moving families.

A increasing disagreement that goes beyond the taxation debate

The remarks travel arsenic researchers astatine the Federal Reserve Bank of New York person documented increasing fiscal divergence betwixt higher and little earners, with pandemic-era alleviation programs expiring successful 2023 and rising substance costs adding further strain connected lower-income households.

Critics reason the tax system is little progressive than it appears. Social Security taxes are not collected connected income supra $184,500, meaning precocious earners halt contributing aboriginal successful the year.

A 2024 analysis by the Institute connected Taxation and Economic Policy recovered that erstwhile each federal, state, and section taxes are included, the apical 1% lend 24% of each taxation revenue, a fig hardly higher than their 20% information of full reported income.

A Yale University Budget Lab study recovered effectual rates among apical 1% earners scope from 3% to 45%.

What Jeff Bezos pays successful income taxes?

A 2021 ProPublica investigation recovered that Jeff Bezos paid nary national income taxes successful 2007 and 2011, and calculated his effectual complaint betwixt 2014 and 2018 astatine nether 1%.

Bezos besides argued that authorities spending inefficiency is an arsenic superior problem, citing New York City’s schoolhouse system. How it fares volition apt go wide arsenic Congress takes up the 2026 national budget.