Jeff Bezos: Half of American taxpayers should be exempt from taxes

In an interview on May 20 with CNBCBezos said the top 1% of America’s income earners currently contribute about 40% of the government’s total tax revenue. Meanwhile, the 50% of people with the lowest income in the country only contribute 3%.

“I don’t think this rate should be 3%. Going down to 0% is more reasonable,” he said. The billionaire explained that this is “just a small amount of money for the government”.

The Tax Foundation quotes the latest data from the US Tax Service (IRS) showing that the 50% lowest income group in the US will have a pre-tax income of nearly 54,000 USD in 2023. Meanwhile, the richest 1% group earns at least 676,000 USD or more that year.

Bezos gave the example of a medical worker who earned $75,000 that year. “We shouldn’t ask a nurse who lives in Queens to send money to Washington. They should send her an apology. Because that’s really unreasonable,” he said.

Bezos said he “supports” the change, but did not offer details on how lawmakers might implement it. According to Forbeshe is currently the fourth richest person in the world with assets of about 269 billion USD.

The Tax Foundation said that in 2023, the average income tax rate in 2023 in the US will be 14.1%. The top 1% of taxpayers pay an average rate of 26.3%. This level is 7 times higher than the group of 50% of the lowest income in the country.

The Tax Foundation says there will be more than 76 million households in this 50% group in 2023. On average, each household pays $913 in federal income taxes that year.

Bezos’ statement came in the context that a number of states controlled by the Democratic Party are considering raising taxes on the rich. Some federal lawmakers have also recently proposed tax cuts for low-income people. Senator Cory Booker proposed that the first $75,000 of households filing jointly would be tax-free. Singles and heads of households will also have a corresponding reduction.

Although low-income groups have a lower tax burden, their difficulties are more prominent in the context of high inflation and rising living costs. Research by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in New York shows that the termination of Pandemic supports for low- and middle-income groups has created a clear divide from 2023.

In the past few months, gasoline prices have increased sharply due to conflicts in the Middle East, making the situation even more serious. Studies show that the proportion of spending on gasoline on total income of low-income people is higher than that of rich people.

“I think what’s happening right now is like a tale of two economies. There’s a group of people in this country who live very well, but there are also a lot of people who are struggling,” Bezos concluded.