Jeff Bezos says a nurse earning $75,000 a year in Queens should not be sending more than $1,000 a month to Washington and argues that the bottom half of US earners should pay no federal income tax at all, as he notes they currently contribute only about 3% of federal individual income‑tax receipts.
'We shouldn't be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington,' Bezos said in a previous interview. 'They should be sending her an apology.'
Bezos said the bottom 50% of income earners contribute only about 3% of federal individual income‑tax receipts. 'I think it should be zero,' he said.
Bezos' Case for a Zero Tax Bill
Bezos has framed the proposal as a way to leave more money with workers who have limited room in their budgets. He has also argued that the extra cash could give people greater scope to start businesses or pursue ideas that might otherwise remain out of reach.
'Maybe they're going to be the next Steve Jobs,' Bezos said. He said he would advocate for the proposal, including with President Donald Trump. The argument puts Bezos behind a tax structure that would shift a greater share of the federal individual income‑tax burden toward higher earners.
The Bottom Half Already Pays a Small Share
IRS data support the broad figure Bezos cited, although the precise share is slightly higher than 3%. Tax Foundation analysis of 2023 data found that the bottom 50% paid $69.9 billion, or 3.26%, of the $2.14 trillion collected in federal individual income taxes.
The same group accounted for 12.3% of adjusted gross income. The top 50% paid 96.74% of federal individual income taxes, while the top 1% accounted for 38.4%.
The income threshold is also important when considering Bezos' $75,000 nurse example.
In 2023, tax returns in the bottom half had adjusted gross income below $53,801, meaning his hypothetical nurse would sit above that cutoff.
That does not invalidate Bezos' argument, but it shows why the headline number and his example are not interchangeable. His proposal covers the bottom half of earners, while the worker he singled out earns more than the latest statistical threshold for that group.
Zero Income Tax Is Not Zero Tax
The proposal concerns federal individual income tax rather than the full range of taxes paid by American workers. Payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare would remain, as would state and local taxes.
There is another complication in the 3.26% figure. The IRS measure does not treat refundable tax credits as negative taxes, even though credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit can reduce a household's tax liability to zero or result in a payment from the government.
That means the income‑tax figure does not capture the entire effect of federal taxes and transfers on lower‑income households. Some of the lowest earners already face little or no net federal income‑tax liability when refundable credits are taken into account.
Amazon Founder's Broader Tax Argument
Bezos has also rejected the idea that raising taxes on billionaires would by itself solve the financial pressures facing ordinary Americans. He has said he pays billions of dollars in taxes and argued that even doubling his tax bill would not materially help a teacher or nurse in Queens.
'You could double the taxes I pay, and it's not going to help that teacher in Queens,' he said. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani later pushed back, saying he knew teachers in Queens who would disagree.
Bezos instead has pointed to government spending and efficiency as a larger problem. That places his proposal in an unusual position: it would make the income‑tax system more progressive while rejecting higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans as the main remedy.
Bezos' Tax Proposal in Practice
Bezos has not released a detailed legislative plan for eliminating federal individual income tax for the bottom 50% of earners. His proposal would leave payroll taxes and state and local taxes outside the change.
The bottom half of taxpayers paid $69.9 billion in federal individual income taxes in 2023, according to Tax Foundation's analysis of IRS data. That represented 3.26% of the $2.14 trillion collected in federal individual income taxes that year.
Bezos has said the government could find the money elsewhere and has argued that reducing the tax burden on lower earners would leave more money available to households. He has also said the government should focus more closely on spending and efficiency.
The proposal would affect the federal individual income‑tax system only. It would not eliminate other federal taxes paid by workers or change state and local tax obligations.
