For roughly 76 million American households, federal income taxes could eventually disappear—if a proposal by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ever becomes reality.
The now Blue Origin owner argued in a recent interview with CNBC that the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no income tax, saying that working Americans shouldn’t be placed under increased financial pressure, considering they contribute a relatively small share of total tax revenue anyway.
“The bottom half of income earners in this country pay only 3% of the taxes,” Bezos said. “I think it should be zero.”
To make his case, Bezos questioned why a hypothetical healthcare worker as an example: “Why is a nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year paying more than $1,000 a month in taxes?”
“To me, it’s kind of absurd that we’re doing this. We shouldn’t be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington,” Bezos added. “They should be sending her an apology. It really makes no sense.”
While Bezos did not elaborate on his exact calculations, workers in the U.S. are generally required to pay federal income, Social Security, Medicare—and in most states, state income—taxes. Combined together, it can stretch into the thousands of dollars.
Because the U.S. tax system is progressive, higher earners generally pay a larger share of their income in federal taxes. In 2023, the bottom half of taxpayers (those making roughly under $54,000) accounted for roughly 12% of total adjusted gross income—but they paid just 3% of all federal income taxes, according to IRS data analyzed by the Tax Foundation. The average household in that group paid about $913 in federal income tax. However, when refundable tax credits are factored in, the bottom 40% of taxpayers already pay effectively no federal income tax on average, reported CNBC.
Bezos, who has maintained a warm relationship with President Donald Trump, said he plans to advocate for the idea with political leaders, arguing that exempting lower earners from federal income taxes would represent only “a small amount of money for the government.”
“It is part of our job as citizens and as business leaders to share our ideas,” Bezos said. “And this one would actually help people.”
Bezos—with a net worth of $280 billion—says even if his tax bill was doubled, it wouldn’t help
Bezos’s concern for affordability may come as a surprise considering his estimated net worth north of $280 billion—the fourth highest of any person in the world. And while he said he personally pays “billions of dollars” in taxes, his tax history has long drawn scrutiny.
A ProPublica investigation released in 2021 found that Bezos—like several of America’s wealthiest billionaires—used tax strategies that have dramatically reduced his tax burden in certain years. In 2007 and 2011, for example, he paid no federal income tax at all, in part because investment losses outweighed reported income. Analyzing Bezos’ wealth growth alongside his reported income and taxes paid between 2014 and 2018, ProPublica calculated his so-called ‘true tax rate’ at 0.98%.
Still, Bezos said he is open to a policy debate over what constitutes a fair tax burden for the wealthy. The top 1% of taxpayers accounted for nearly 21% of total adjusted gross income in 2023, but paid roughly 38% of all federal income taxes that year.
“We can argue about what the fair share is. That’s a policy debate, that’s okay,” Bezos said. “But the vilification is the thing that’s just the distraction.”
But even after fixing tax loopholes or increasing taxes on the wealthy would not address what Bezos sees as a larger government spending problem. He pointed to inefficiencies in New York City’s public school system as an example.
“If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system, your packages would take six weeks to arrive. We’d have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. And then when the package did finally arrive, it’d have the wrong item in it anyway.”
“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you,” he added.
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani pushed back on X, writing: “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.”
Bezos plans to give away ‘most of his wealth’ in his lifetime—but his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott already has a head start
While Bezos has not signed The Giving Pledge—the philanthropic initiative created by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates encouraging billionaires to give away a majority of their fortunes in their lifetime or wills—the Amazon founder said he’s committed to giving away most of his wealth in his lifetime.
At the same time, he acknowledged the challenge of doing philanthropy effectively, echoing comments from billionaires including Buffett and Elon Musk, who have said giving away massive sums of money well is often harder than it appears.
But Bezos’ former wife, MacKenzie Scott, already has a sizable head start. Since 2020, she has donated more than $26 billion to organizations focused on DEI, education, and disaster recovery. Meanwhile, Forbes estimates that Bezos and his current wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, have donated roughly $4.7 billion over their lifetimes.
Bezos argued to CNBC that the long-term societal impact of companies like Amazon and Blue Origin may ultimately prove even more valuable than philanthropy alone. Creating products and services that improve people’s lives, he said, is the kind of impact aspiring entrepreneurs should prioritize.
“Everybody out there who’s a potential entrepreneur make sure you focus on that,” Bezos said. “You will be creating value for society if you’re successful at pleasing your customers.”
