Jeff Bezos Calls for Zero Income Taxes on Bottom Half of Earners

CNBC reported Wednesday that Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos is calling for the bottom half of American earners to pay zero federal income taxes. Bezos made the remarks in a live appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, speaking with anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Bezos Makes the Case for Zero Income Tax

Bezos noted that the top 1% of taxpayers currently contribute roughly 40% of all federal income tax revenue. The bottom half, by contrast, account for just 3% of that total. He argued that share should be reduced to nothing.

He framed the issue around a hypothetical nurse earning $75,000 annually in New York. Sending a portion of that paycheck to Washington makes little fiscal sense for the government, he said, while placing a real burden on the worker. The contribution from lower earners is negligible to federal coffers but meaningful to household budgets.

The Tax Foundation, drawing on the most recent IRS data, puts the average adjusted gross income for the bottom half of taxpayers at just under $54,000 in 2023. Households in the top 1% earned at least $676,000 that year. Average federal income tax rates reflect that gap, with the top tier paying 26.3% versus 3.7% for the lower half.

Background: A Debate Already in Motion

Bezos’s remarks land in the middle of an active legislative conversation. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced the Keep Your Pay Act earlier this year. The bill would exempt the first $75,000 of income from federal tax for joint filers, with adjusted relief for other filing statuses.

Several Democratic-led states are simultaneously exploring wealth tax proposals targeting high-net-worth individuals, adding a parallel track to the national debate over tax distribution.

K-Shaped Economy Adds Pressure

Economists and policymakers have increasingly pointed to a diverging economic landscape in the United States. Higher-income households have continued to benefit from rising asset values and wage growth. Lower- and middle-income families, however, face compounding pressures from sustained inflation and higher energy costs.

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identified a clear divergence beginning in 2023, tied partly to the expiration of pandemic-era support programs. More recently, elevated gasoline prices have widened that gap further, with lower earners spending a disproportionately large share of income on fuel.

Bezos, whose net worth Forbes estimates at roughly $269 billion, described the current situation as “a tale of two economies,” with a meaningful portion of the country still facing significant financial strain.

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