Jeff Bezos, you were so close to making a good point | TechCrunch

Jeff Bezos said Americans in the bottom half of incomes should pay zero federal income tax. He pointed to a nurse in Queens earning about $75,000 who pays more than $1,000 per month in taxes, arguing that the money could help with rent and groceries rather than being sent to Washington. He estimated that the bottom half contributes about 3% of total taxes while paying roughly 16% of their salary, leaving them struggling. He also criticized how billionaires benefit from tax rules that do not tax unrealized capital gains. He noted that wealth can grow without income tax until assets are sold, and that wealthy investors can use stock-backed loans to fund living expenses while delaying taxes.

"“Why is a nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year paying more than $1,000 a month in taxes?” Bezos said. “That's $1,000 that could help with rent, or groceries, or anything... 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. They should be sending her an apology.”"

"Bezos said the bottom half of Americans should pay zero federal income tax.He cited a nurse in Queens making ~$75K and paying ~$12K in taxes saying “we shouldn't be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington.” pic.twitter.com/8KSgrO5TnE- Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) May 20, 2026"

"Bezos argues that the lower half of earners only pay 3% of total taxes, so people like that nurse are struggling to make ends meet while devoting about 16% of their salary (per Bezos' estimation) to pay taxes that barely move the needle in Washington."

"Billionaires like Bezos have taken advantage of holes in the tax system so that they pay income tax on just a small percentage of their annual gains. In 2007 and 2011, Bezos didn't pay income tax at all. According to a ProPublica investigation, Bezos' wealth increased $127 billion from 2006 to 2018, but he reported $6.5 billion in income. While this amounted to a huge $1.4 billion tax payment, this represented a tax rate of only about 1 percent."

Read at TechCrunch