NEW YORK, May 21, 2026, 16:19 (EDT)
Bezos said the federal income tax should be eliminated for the bottom 50% of earners in the U.S., stepping straight into the ongoing tax debate with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democrats who want the rich to pay higher taxes.
Tax policy is back in campaign debate. Democratic lawmakers want wealth taxes in California, in Congress, and in New York. In New York City, Mamdani is pushing a tax on high-end second homes to fund city services and back his affordability pitch.
Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin he thinks the bottom half of taxpayers should pay “zero” federal income tax, not just less. “I don’t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it,” Bezos said. “Zero is a better number than $1.” InvestmentNews
The numbers look small for Washington but are bigger for households. Taxpayers in the bottom half, making less than $53,801 in 2023, had 12.3% of all adjusted gross income and paid 3.3% of federal individual income taxes, according to Tax Foundation. The top 1% covered 38.4% of the total.
Bezos pitched the idea with a story about a “nurse in Queens” making $75,000 a year and paying over $1,000 a month in taxes. “We shouldn’t be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington,” he said. “They should be sending her an apology.” Fortune
Bezos argued against the idea that raising taxes on billionaires would help middle- and lower-income workers. “You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens,” Bezos told InvestmentNews. Mamdani fired back on social media: “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.” InvestmentNews
Bezos weighed in on New York’s pied-à-terre tax plan, calling Mamdani’s proposed surcharge on expensive second homes “a fine thing for New York to do,” and compared it to a hotel tax for visitors. He pushed back on Mamdani’s criticism of Citadel founder Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse, saying, “Ken Griffin isn’t a villain.” Business Insider
Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul rolled out the plan in April. The measure targets one- to three-family homes, condos and co-ops worth over $5 million, if owners claim a different main home outside the city. The mayor’s office put the expected yearly haul at $500 million.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul pitched the idea as a way to steady city finances and avoid service cuts. “If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker,” Hochul said. Governor Kathy Hochul
There are risks either way. Bezos hasn’t laid out how Congress might pass it or said what would fill the revenue gap. New York’s property tax idea has open questions around valuations, rentals, and enforcement. The city comptroller’s office said first bills under the plan probably wouldn’t go out until November 2026.
Wall Street isn’t silent in the tax debate. Mamdani has talked with big bank CEOs like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon. Bill Ackman and Griffin have both criticized New York’s tax plans.
Bezos’ tax record is often cited by critics. In 2021, ProPublica said Bezos paid no federal income taxes in 2007 or 2011, citing its larger investigation of billionaire wealth and how gains in stock can escape taxes on income.
Bezos pitched the plan as a political statement, not as a full bill for now. He told political leaders he’ll push the idea, saying wiping away the tax bill for lower earners could be “very meaningful” for those families, even though it’s a small slice of federal revenue. Fortune
