Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, said Wednesday that the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income taxes at all, calling the current system unreasonable for workers under financial pressure.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box from Blue Origin’s Florida facility, Bezos cited IRS data showing that group contributes just 3% of all federal income tax revenue. He said that share should be zero.
Tax Foundation analysis shows that the average household in the bottom half reported an adjusted gross income of about $24,500 in 2023 and paid roughly $913 in taxes for the year. Their average effective rate was 3.7%, compared to 26.3% for the top 1% of earners, who paid roughly 38% to 40% of all federal income tax collected.
From $913 to zero: The math Bezos explains
Bezos used two examples to make his case. He described a Queens, New York, healthcare worker earning $75,000 a year, saying Washington should owe that worker an apology, not a tax bill.
Bezos made a similar argument for an Amazon employee earning around $50,000, saying removing the tax burden would provide real relief while barely affecting federal revenue.
He said he plans to bring the idea directly to President Donald Trump, and Elon Musk publicly backed the idea online.
Not everyone agreed. New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said on social media that teachers in Queens would take issue with Bezos’s remarks.
Billionaire Tom Steyer also objected. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has separately proposed legislation making the first $75,000 of household income tax-free, saying it would be a significant help for working families.
A growing divide that goes beyond the tax debate
The remarks come as researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have documented growing financial divergence between higher and lower earners, with pandemic-era relief programs expiring in 2023 and rising fuel costs adding further strain on lower-income households.
Critics argue the tax system is less progressive than it appears. Social Security taxes are not collected on income above $184,500, meaning high earners stop contributing early in the year.
A 2024 analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that when all federal, state, and local taxes are included, the top 1% contribute 24% of all tax revenue, a figure barely higher than their 20% portion of total reported income.
A Yale University Budget Lab report found effective rates among top 1% earners range from 3% to 45%.
What Jeff Bezos pays in income taxes?
A 2021 ProPublica investigation found that Jeff Bezos paid no federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011, and calculated his effective rate between 2014 and 2018 at under 1%.
Bezos also argued that government spending inefficiency is an equally serious problem, citing New York City’s school system. How it fares will likely become clear as Congress takes up the 2026 federal budget.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
