Jeff Bezos Says Bottom Half of U.S. Earners Should Pay No Federal Income Tax

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNBC on Wednesday that the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income tax.

Bezos said removing those taxes could ease financial pressure and encourage entrepreneurship. The bottom half of U.S. taxpayers currently pays about 3% of federal income taxes, a share he said should fall to zero.

Bezos, who stepped back as Amazon's CEO in 2021, is the world's fourth-richest person, with a fortune valued at $279 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The top 1% of households pay about 40% of federal income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation.

His comments come as some Democratic lawmakers push for new wealth taxes on millionaires and billionaires. At the same time, Republicans' tax and spending bill included breaks that critics say mainly benefit the wealthiest households.

The government can give people who are struggling today a better chance at entrepreneurial success by eliminating their tax bill, Bezos said. Maybe they're going to be the next Steve Jobs, he added, referring to the late cofounder of Apple.

Bezos made clear that he is not calling for a reduction in income tax for lower-income families. I don't want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it, he told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin. I think there's something very powerful about zero. Zero is a better number than $1.

His remarks come as some Democratic states consider taxes on ultra-wealthy residents. Last month, a proposal to tax California billionaires secured enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians with net worths of $1 billion or more.

In March, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026. The bill calls for an annual 2% tax on households and trusts worth more than $50 million, plus an extra 1% tax on billionaires' wealth. It also proposes a 40% exit tax on individuals worth more than $50 million who renounce their American citizenship.

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has proposed the Keep Your Pay Act, which would eliminate taxes on the first $75,000 for households filing joint tax returns.

Under the federal income-tax system, the bottom half of taxpayers, those making less than $53,801 annually, faced an average income-tax rate of 3.7% in 2023, Tax Foundation data shows. The top 1% paid an average rate of 26.3%.