{"id":19,"date":"2026-05-20T20:13:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=19"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:13:24","slug":"amazons-jeff-bezos-calls-for-zero-income-taxes-on-bottom-half-of-earners-while-also-taking-jab-at-tax-the-rich-pols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=19","title":{"rendered":"Amazon’s Jeff Bezos calls for zero income taxes on bottom half of earners \u2014 while also taking jab at tax-the-rich pols"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Wednesday the bottom half of earners should pay zero federal income taxes \u2013 arguing it\u2019s unnecessary for struggling families to cough up their hard-earned dough in the wealthiest country in the world.<\/p>\n

Read more Jeff Bezos blasts Mamdani for casting billionaire Ken Griffin as a \u2018villain\u2019 in hizzoner\u2019s viral video filmed outside NYC penthouse<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking to Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC\u2019s \u201cSquawk Box,\u201d the billionaire called for changes to the US tax system, which he said sees the top 1% of taxpayers pay 40% of all tax revenue and the bottom half contribute 3%. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s in keeping with official figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it should be 3%,\u201d Bezos asserted. \u201cI think it should be zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people are starting out and they\u2019re struggling, stop taxing them. We don\u2019t need it. We live in the wealthiest country in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said income taxes paid by lower earners represent \u201ca small amount of money for the government,\u201d nodding to the hypothetical taxes paid by a healthcare worker who earns $75,000 annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should be sending her an apology. It really makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about his relationship with President Trump, Bezos said he has worked with every commander-in-chief since Bill Clinton and that he would \u201cadvocate\u201d for the change, though he didn\u2019t specify how lawmakers might start slashing taxes.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the bottom half of taxpayers had an adjusted gross income of nearly $54,000 \u2013 while those in the top 1% earned at least $676,000, according to a Tax Foundation analysis citing IRS data.<\/p>\n

More than 76 million households made up the bottom half of earners in 2023, and paid $913 in federal income taxes on average, the analysis said.<\/p>\n

The average income tax rate that year was 14.1%, according to the Tax Foundation. The top 1% of taxpayers paid an average rate of 26.3%, about seven times higher than the 3.7% paid by the lower half of earners.<\/p>\n

Read more Frantic good Samaritans tried to save Donike Gocaj, who screamed \u2018I\u2019m dying\u2019 before becoming eerily quiet in NYC manhole<\/a><\/p>\n

Bezos nodded to discussions around the so-called K-shaped economy, the idea that higher-income groups are benefitting from stock market gains and high wages while low- and middle-earners are struggling to survive amid a rising cost-of-living.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s going on is that it\u2019s kind of a tale of two economies, so you have a bunch of people in this country who are doing really well, but you also have a bunch of people in this country who are struggling,\u201d said Bezos, whom Forbes ranks as the world\u2019s fourth-richest person with a $269 billion net worth\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bezos talked about his own parents\u2019 success stories in America, discussing how his adoptive father came to the US from Cuba in the 1960s and his mother was a teen mom in Albuquerque, NM.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at that and I think, I want to make sure that the people that are struggling today have a chance to do that too, to bring themselves up and maybe they\u2019re gonna be the next Steve Jobs. Maybe one of their kids will be the next Steve Jobs, I don\u2019t know,\u201d said Bezos, who currently serves as executive chairman of Amazon, the country\u2019s largest parcel carrier.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBut we can give them a better chance by eliminating their tax bill. And I don\u2019t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He argued corporate tax loopholes need to be significantly reduced, calling them a sign of \u201ccrony capitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bezos also defended his own tax bill and seemingly jabbed at tax-the-rich agendas from pols like NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has outraged wealthy business owners with his proposed tax on luxury second homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could double the taxes I pay, and it\u2019s not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you,\u201d Bezos said, adding that he already pays billions in taxes.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Cuba leader Raul Castro, 94, charged with murder, conspiracy to kill Americans in 1996 shootdown of humanitarian planes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Wednesday the bottom half of earners should pay zero federal income taxes \u2013 arguing it\u2019s unnecessary for struggling families to cough up their hard-earned dough in the wealthiest country in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon's Jeff Bezos calls for zero income taxes on bottom half of earners \u2014 while also taking jab at tax-the-rich pols - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amazon's Jeff Bezos calls for zero income taxes on bottom half of earners \u2014 while also taking jab at tax-the-rich pols - 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