Jeff Bezos Just Said The Bottom Half Of Workers Should Pay “Zero” Taxes But Will It Happen?

Fun fact: Bezos is almost an anagram of ‘zero’

The fourth-richest man, and notable Amazonian, Jeffrey Preston Bezos has called for zero federal income tax for the bottom half of earners. Aw, thanks!

Squawking on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’, Jeff spoke on a number of topics from Blue Origin to his favorite brand of shampoo. But touching on wealth inequality, Bezos talked about how his parents came up from poverty (not the unicycling hockey player… look it up), but now many Americans today face roadblocks to doing this in the form of taxation.

“We can give them a better chance by eliminating their tax bill,” Bezos explained. “I don’t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it. I think there’s something very powerful about ‘zero’. Zero is a better number than one dollar. We’re ‘free shipping’ at Amazon, not 25 cents shipping. When people are starting out and struggling, stop taxing them.”

Jeff went on to lay out how the top 1% of taxpayers pay about 40% of all the tax revenue, while the lower half of workers pay 3% of the tax.

“I don’t think it should be 3%,” Bezos said. “I think it should be zero.”

“We shouldn’t be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington. They should be sending her an apology. It really makes no sense.”

BREAKING: 0 and 3 are two different numbers

Although Bezos didn’t say if he would advocate politically for such a change, his comments do come as several lawmakers are exploring the possibility of such a tax reduction.

“No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people,” said Senator Corey Booker in a legislative proposal. “This tax cut would immediately put more money in your pocket every month to deal with the high price of everyday expenses, an unexpected emergency, or to plan for the future.”

Such reforms would impact the 76 million households in the bottom half of earners. On average, these earners paid $913 in taxes in 2023. Although adding on refundable tax credits, the bottom 40% of taxpayers effectively paid no income tax anyway, according to Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy for the Tax Foundation.

Needless to say, America’s tax system is not as straightforward as it looks, but what is true is that we’re in a “K-shaped economy,” so called because it’s not OK. Lower-income families are disproportionately affected by inflation and increasing costs. The tax bill is just the cherry on top.

Jeff might pay a higher tax rate, but he seems to understand that it just gets harder the further below that 1% you go. But for now, it’s just talk, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing his policy enacted anytime soon.