Jeff Bezos is calling for the federal government to eliminate income taxes for the lower half of American taxpayers, arguing that the group contributes too little revenue to justify the burde
Jeff Bezos is calling for the federal government to eliminate income taxes for the lower half of American taxpayers, arguing that the group contributes too little revenue to justify the burden.
Speaking to CNBC, the Amazon founder said the bottom half of taxpayers pays only about 3% of federal individual income taxes.
“I think it should be zero,” Bezos said, using a nurse earning $75,000 a year as an example of a worker he believes should keep more of her income.
Lower Earners Pay a Small Share of Federal Income TaxIRS data analyzed by the Tax Foundation shows that roughly 76.5 million tax returns fell into the bottom half in 2023.
Those taxpayers had adjusted gross income below $53,801 and paid 3.3% of federal individual income taxes, despite receiving 12.3% of total adjusted gross income. Their average federal income tax bill was about $913.
Bezos’s argument broadly aligns with those figures, although his $75,000 nurse example sits above the threshold used to define the bottom 50%.
Eliminating federal income tax would not remove all payroll deductions. Social Security, Medicare and most state taxes would remain unless lawmakers changed them separately.
Bezos’s broader business profile remains closely tied to technology and investing. His private investment activity includes backing AI startup CuspAI, while renewed AWS growth recently helped lift Amazon shares.
Bezos Says Spending Is the Bigger ProblemBezos said he is open to debating how much wealthy Americans should pay, but argued that higher taxes on billionaires would not solve inefficient government spending.
The top 1% of taxpayers earned 20.6% of adjusted gross income in 2023 but paid 38.4% of federal individual income taxes.
That leaves Bezos’s proposal centered on a simple idea: lower earners should keep more of their income because their contribution to federal income-tax revenue is relatively small. Turning it into law, however, would require Congress to decide who qualifies and how any lost revenue would be replaced.
