Jeff Bezos says bottom 50% should pay no federal income tax

Raoul Meyer403

You know what could help that teacher in Queens, Jeff? If you paid the pied-a-terre tax on you $100 million penthouse on Fifth Avenue.

Jack Scrambo293

Quadruple it then. How many multiples of your current tax liability should we take Jeff? I’m thinking in orders of magnitude

Polly Curley184

Probably because he's paying 2/3 of 7/8 of the square root of fuck all in tax. But it would be fun to watch him pay at the base rate of the US tax system.

Boulder Voter Rob117

Yeah, but a WEALTH tax would. Americans understand having their WEALTH taxed every year. It's what happens with our only big asset, if we're lucky, our home. We know what he's worth. Tax that! If he disagrees with Forbes about his assets, he can file a fecking return!

blueduck 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇲🇽115

Of course… that fucking clown Bozos pays far less than the teacher in Queens. Tax the MFer by the same tax rate WE all pay, and I fucking GUARANTEE it will be life changing for many. Fuck these oligarch PIGS

Sue in Rockville 💙🦋💙🦋💙🦋99

How about we triple or quadruple your taxes you greedy motherfucker? Then you can start paying your workers a living wage & give them decent hours & let them join unions?* Let's see if that will help US #FUJeffBezos *& maybe they will not have to pee in bottles

JD Pirtle75

There were many years Bezos paid zero federal income tax, like 2007 and 2011, so yeah he's right 2 x 0 = 0. Yet the average American will pay 1/3 of all of their income in taxes in their lifetime. Imagine what we could do for public schooling if we even taxed Bezos at 20%.

Contingency Fee60

I'm fine with a larger multiplier

Angele56

At this point, who this MF’s taxes support is irrelevant. Creep Bezos has broken the laws of this country in numerous ways, fleecing every single one of us. He MUST pay his taxes. I absolutely can’t stand this man & his plastic trollop. #BoycottAmazon

tzigan.bsky.social37

Senator Elizabeth Warren would destroy this ass one on one.

AuntieU34

We need to tax Bezos, Musk, Thiel and bankers at 90% rate. They need to backpay for their tax avoidance for decades.

Керрі Світ🇺🇦🇨🇦🇩🇰🇪🇺30

Sure, since two times zero is zero.

Frank Grimes.29

Well played, Jeff. If you pay 0 % taxes and you double that you are still paying 0%.

I'm Suzi Poppins, y'all!27

Better take 90% of your money then.

Kas24

I’ve been reading his tax rate is less than 1% while the average worker pays nearly 15%. So who knows, he may be correct since he’s paying so little in taxes it may not make any difference if he pays double. But if he paid what we pay and his company paid its fair share it would make a difference.

Mauro23

There should be at least be a 10% penalty assessed against an oligarch's total wealth every time one of them uses the phrase, "I promise you."

Sage21

How would we know if we haven't tried? Oh wait, we did. Prior to the 1980s, tax rates on the obscenely rich were a lot higher, and our social safety net was a lot better

StressArt Studio18

He doesn't pay any taxes, so 0 x 2 is still 0.

🍀McMomma🍀17

These answers are similar to Trump's talk of "a small loan of a million dollars". These people are detached from reality because they can afford to be.

𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕘 𝔹𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕤17

Screw double on what he already pays. He should pay 90%, as we did post-WW2. Anyone worth BILLIONS should pay 90% tax on income, wealth, capital gains, etc. They can afford to, and it doesn't hurt their long-term standings at all.

WuzntMe14

He's probably telling the truth. His personal taxes are probably about the same as the $750.00 Taco paid.

Full Bird Private14

Tax billionaires until they are multi-millionaires. Fuck him and his ilk.

Gentlewoman Farmer14

He's right. 2 times zero is zero.

Regina DeTodos13

Bezos effective tax rate - 1% Amazon effective tax rate - 1.5% Average American tax rate - 14.5% A person whose net worth is +/- 250billion should not be paying "billions in taxes", he should be paying TENS of billions every year. He should not have a lower tax rate than a teacher.

Elisa💙Zelensky is a Hero13

Because zero x2 is still zero?

PC Sherry🦋12

Hmmmmm. Bezos pays nothing in taxes, so doubling that is, let’s see… STILL NOTHING.

I'm Beth12

We need to be taxing the unearned income of these billionaires. Actual earned income is nearly zero. All of their wealth comes from their money making money. Tax the shit out of that.

Doremus Jessup12

Well Jeff, that teacher in Queens pays 14x % more of their income in taxes than you do! So yeah, double is not enough. Let’s start by 14x-ing it.

a custodian of regular feelings12

let’s try it and see

Currently Engaged in Racceteering12

He's right, 0 x 2 = 0 But now if we had a 99 or 100% tax on every dollar over 1 billion, that'll help a lot of people

Saturated11

Why do we tolerate this shit?

Scott Ervin11

OK, well … part of the problem is that you aren’t currently paying your fair share. So, first … let’s get you to pay your fair share. THEN double THAT amount. I guarantee it will help that teacher in Queens.

Richard J Laya11

So why does anyone pay anything, because individually no one’s payment matters?

mossyswpdx.bsky.social11

Then we'll raise them until it does.

EU Paul10

Instead of saying double his taxes, state a reasonable billionaire tax rate, like 45% on his earnings from salary and bonuses, and a 30% capital gains tax on his share investments. That might make Bezos wince.

wkb travels10

Ok prove it for 3 years and we will see. Bezos is a fucking monster.

Here We Armbar Nazis 💪🏻10

He’s not wrong. 2x zero is still zero and not going to help. But eliminating the tax avoidance schemes he and the super rich use and taxing their wealth would absolutely generate enough revenue to increase teacher pay, social programs, and other benefits for normal Americans. #TaxTheRich

Admiral Benghazi10

One way to find out

Mark Tiberi10

Last I checked he pays no taxes at all.

99fgh.bsky.social10

Let's try it and see! Better yet increase his taxes by ten times or 100 times!

WokeMooseAndSquirrel🌊🫏10

He is telling the truth. 2 * 0 is still 0.

Audrey “The only thing more powerful than hate is love!”9

I promise you we want to do more than double the taxes you pay!

Andy “Fucking Bitch” Dashiell ❤️🌈🖖🏔️9

So he’s effectively saying his current taxes are waaaaaaaay too low. Ok, we can address that.

Professor Xǐ 喜9

Jeff Bezos is correct that taxing billionaires is not going to fix the problem because the problem is an economic system that lets the idle rich steal our labor. We already tried taxing the rich in the 30s and they spent the next 80 years clawing back everything. We need socialism now

John Payant9

We don’t want his taxes to double. We want him and his ilk to pay their fair share, which I would say is a helluva lot more than double what he currently pays.

Underwhelmed9

Ok, then lets quintuple them. Still won't matter? Let's start talking orders of magnitude then.

BonBon🤌9

Let us worry about that Jeff.

Gnomez9

THATS BECAUSE HE BARELY PAYS ANY

Will9

How about make him pay his workers properly and then after that make his companies pay the same amount of tax (rate) that normal people and small businesses pay? And then we can worry about his personal wealth too (nobody should be able to spend millions bribing the government)

Islais_cm💙🇵🇷✊🏽✊🏿🟧🌈🐈‍⬛💃🏾9

So he is aware that we teachers are demanding to tax the rich.😠 He could probably gain more customers if he heads a campaign to tax the rich at a much higher rate than they are being taxed now. (…because yes, they can afford it!)

michaeljtowle.bsky.social9

Don't tax me. Don't tax thee. Tax that guy behind the tree.

Wheelyam9

To defend the oligarchy tech-bro arrogance that optimizing a government by the people, for the people doesn’t work because he says so with an asinine, demeaning example backed by no empirical evidence other than rich douche bravado.

SF Guy who #$@!% #$@!% & commits wyt #$@!%8

He’s making a joke because these assholes pay almost nothing in federal taxes. Double of nothing is nothing. What a POS. Let’s take 90% of everthing above 20 million, and see how they like it! Normalize a top tax bracket of 90%. Party like it’s 1950!

Which Witch R U 🏳️‍🌈8

We don’t want to double it. Because you basically pay nothing. We want to tax you the same we get taxed…like 20-25%…which could literally end hunger, give us universal healthcare and more, and you wouldn’t even miss it. You didn’t earn that money. Your employees, the working class, did.

Mick the Minotaur8

Then let’s quadruple them, Jeff

Eric Marts8

How about we do the doubling of your taxes and then do an assessment, rocket man hobbyist? The biggest scam in the world is republicans (and corporate democrats) convincing the mass majority that low tax rates on the wealthy will lead to higher employment and wages for workers. What utter BS.

Gumbo8

What’s zero times two again?

Zeb Ulon7

cool. now we have an interesting hypothesis. lets move onto the experiment phase and figure out if it holds up.

Zen Zinnia7

doubling $0 is still $0.

graemeart.bsky.social7

Your employee's wages are too low. Your employees taxes are too high. Your taxes are zero. Your income is astronomical. When our Congress is more grown up, things will change. For now...maybe another no week of NO Amazon.

@gretagroots7

Bezos, Musk etc all have limitless greed, pathological money hoarders, psychopaths really

Ian B. Bautista7

Don't take THAT bait - doubling won't do. He (and Amazon too) are paying at a pitifully low tax rate. Let's make his, his fellow billionaires', and all corporations' tax rates equitable and commensurate with the drain they are on society, natural resources, and the wellbeing of their workforces.

SubAtomic7

These people are the cancer of society. #Abolishbillionaires

nancyfarm.bsky.social7

Double what? Zero? 0x0=0 We know Bozos, you are not “gonna” help. Never will.

Mlip7

Jeff Bezos pays less than 2% effective rate. I say raise it by 500%

Jeff 🇺🇦🇩🇪🇵🇸7

Bezos is partially right. Merely doubling someone like his annual taxes doesn't do shit. What needs to happen is for people to attack his wealth hoarding. Of course billions don't mean anything to you when your net worth can go up $5B in a single day. Attacking the wealth hoarding is the prize.

Kurt Weldon7

"...because I'll make sure of that."

Flannagan the Red 🔞7

here's a novel concept: pay your fucking workers. btw, the unspoken second step of bozo's suggestion is that non-taxpaying citizens lose the right to vote.

gmachancla.bsky.social6

The cynicism is galactic. So is the obtuseness.

valjswisher.bsky.social6

Let’s do it and see what happens!

Helioscrivener6

I fucking hate him and his silicone girlfriend

bxbx4.bsky.social6

They doth protest WAY too much

JGeo6

20 times zero... Is still zero. 1960s highest earner tax rates... 91% (yes, ninety-one percent)

I Dealt It6

So his premise is that if the government collects more taxes that won’t help anything? Make it make sense. Unless he’s referring to the corruption of the trump admin. Then ok yeah.

Simon Tugwell 6

He's kinda right. If he pays close to zero through his tax avoidance schemes, then doubling isn't going to help anyone. We need to tax them properly so they can't worm out of it.

Don't Negotiate With Insurrectionists 6

Hey Jeff, lets do it and see if you are right otherwise you might just be a billionaire narcissist liar.

truckerjc.bsky.social6

So he just said that he's useless.

204uni.bsky.social6

Prove your point Jeff, pay up. #UnionizeAmazon

TspofCourage20256

Fairness. It’s about fairness. The rich get richer because of a rigged system isn’t a good thing for any country. Stop the GASLIT BS. Call Congress. Speak out. We the 99% are sick of being thrown under the bus. But we’re letting this happen at the same time. ENOUGH 5calls

nurseforlife.bsky.social6

How about we give it a try??

Jill schuler 🖇️ NEVER OBEY!!! 🐸6

Maybe just maybe the huge amount that we are paying to the military could be decreased?

David William Sheridan6

That’s because he pays fuck all.

T Max6

That's true. He doesn't pay enough in taxes for doubling to be meaningful.

mel1done.bsky.social5

Jeff should push for the Federal $15 minimum wage... if he really want to help... also lower child care and regulate the cost of housing.

are souls5

waiting for the jowl enlargening surgery to announce the poors don't understand their own problems

Emjayess5

"I'm rich so everything I think and say is really important and you can tell because I use declarative sentences to make my opinions sound like facts. *I learned this from Fox News "contributors."

Irie DC5

he's so full of it

jpjb.bsky.social5

Then triple or quadruple the fucking taxes he pays!

marebears.bsky.social5

Well, double nothing and you still contribute nothing. So, he's right, he isn't helping anyone.

Pyperkub5

Bezos seems to pay more to buy politicians than he does in taxes.... 2024: united4respect.org/reports/amaz...

Eubie5

Stupid man makes ass ton of money and doesn't know how anything works

Rebel Scum 🏴5

He needs another phallic rocket and mega yacht much more than whatever those teachers need that money for.

simongood.bsky.social5

I say lets try it and see how it goes!!!

Liberal K.M.D5

How do you double zero?

JLaw, not Trisolaran5

I'll take that bet. 0x2 is 0.

zetetic99.bsky.social5

"You could double the taxes I pay, and it's not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you." I say we move fast and break billionaires.

Comeonforsome5

If you double it from 0 to 0

Jeffrey w/3 Fs5

Okay, double’s not enough. Noted.

CBTbiscuit5

he knows this is untrue, I mean he lives in a weird fantasy world but he isn't an idiot

Gigix34

Let's test that theory then. Double the mans taxes!

David Collier4

No cos double of 1% is till feck all. Try 50x.

The Ghost Of Sarra Copia Sullam4

I'm just like, prove it. Pay the taxes, motherfucker.

wharf rat4

if we seize every penny he has, I bet it will help a lot of teachers we should give it a try

JauntyWunderKind4

Capital in the 21st Century, Piketty 2013: bsky.app/profile/bft....

Resiprocity4

Anyone can win a lottery… wealth does not equal intelligence.

Martin4

Maybe he's entirely correct. If he's reducing his bill to the extent that Tr*mp when he paid, what was it, $750? Then he's absolutely correct, it won't make a blind bit of difference

traciew.bsky.social4

Out of touch. Therein lies the problem.

Pobol Pobotrol4

Rent is so high in Manhattan and everywhere else in the world because the super rich put all their money into assets such as land and property, increasing those asset prices and lowering interest rates which leads to a feedback loop driving the process exponentially. They distort the economy.

Maybelle4

Because you already pay too little. If you paid like the rest of us, she could afford groceries & aspire to own a home

WeFUCT!4

Tax the fuck out of this bitch! Fuck you bezos. Billionaires should be illegal, you get $999,999,999.99 that's fucking it!

MsDWrites4

If that’s true, it’s because he’s paying even less tax than I think he is.

Paranoid Hemorrhoid4

Who made that assertion? Show me the quote of someone stating that we need to tax Jeff to help Queens schoolteachers. Schools used to teach debate skills, and this is called a "straw man argument" and should be easily dismantled by a semi-precocious 13-year old.

anonymoustroll.bsky.social4

I agree with Jeff that we need a wealth tax on these freeloading billionaires.

LeighFitz.4

But it will help somebody.

K.P O'Connor3

I promise Bozos that he'll still be a billionaire even if his employees don't work next to a cadaver. Besides, teachers in Queens are asking for paid for school supplies, not Bentley's. That AH is so out of touch.

Midnight Train To Georgia On My Mind3

I promise you it won’t hurt.

M.S. Squires3

Gee idk....rubs chin....I'd better ask Liz Warren 'bout that.

leftaz.bsky.social3

Fuck Jeff Bezos. Also a very faulty rationale!!!

marcosantana3

@aoc.bsky.social can use this statement in a campaign advert. @cnbc.com @carlquintanilla.bsky.social

sudo3

10 seconds on Google: "Jeff Bezos has a "true tax rate" of roughly 1% when calculated against his explosive wealth growth. Because the vast majority of his fortune is tied up in stock ... his effective income tax rate on his total net worth expansion is microscopic..."

Ruth 😯🤯🍄3

Disgusting. A very elitist answer.

djdaisylee.bsky.social3

Or; and just hear me out, you could donate money to causes that help others.

Andy Econo3

It's either aggressive taxation or violent revolution.

Col. Bruce Hampton Ret.3

What if he paid a fair amount?

We all Belong!3

Wow. I thought he would be smarter.

Karin3

Double? How about 1000 times higher. That might help,

jhessberg.bsky.social3

Let's try anyway and see what happens.

Cat in the Hat3

Maybe not, but it would feel really cool

fabio3

One could also tripled the taxes billionaires pay and they wouldn’t even notice it. #taxtherich

gordeaux3

We used to debate creating a simple tax code where everyone pays 10%, if that was in place we would KNOW that all of us, including Bezos, are being treated and taxed equally and then we can have the debate about "Government is the problem."

Geddy Flea3

That’s no reason not to try.

Jax K2

Actually it will - if the taxes are used appropriately.

sudo2

The Middle Class pays a wealth tax on houses, which are the main repository of their accumulated wealth. The super rich should pay a 1% or 2% tax on their assets, like we do. They could sell that 1%-2% of stocks and other assets to mark to market each year, to establish actual value.

galileocopernicus.bsky.social2

LOL he totally underestimates us.

melaniefromsanjose.bsky.social2

He could fix so many issues

lafourchette2

(what happened to his mouth? has he had some sort of reconstructive work done?🤔)

Chris Plourde2

Bezos' tax rate is lower than yours, or mine.

J.I.M.2

Well, heck let’s give it a try.

Inafume2

Then lets make you pay 100x the taxes you pay.

Elise2

They love their logical fallacies

The_Political_Buddhist2

Just shows how out of touch with reality he is.

mikeg60.bsky.social2

Correct going from $1 to $2 won’t help. But let’s get real and make multibillion dollar companies pay their fare share.

petite violette2

that's nice, it shouldn't be your decision. would be nice if we had a functioning democratic government

Blue Sue2

Anyone have any ideas on why housing is so expensive? Why is it the “governments” fault per Bezos?

‪🅿️2

There's an old Mac Asteroids clone (Maelstrom) that if you got a bonus, but didn't score anything, would play an old prospector voice saying "Twice nothing is nothing." Seems appropriate here.

i-am-noname.bsky.social2

Of course not. $0 x 2 = $0.00

nathan-ramsey13.bsky.social2

Someone doesn’t understand logic but knows his taxes go back in his and all other billionaires pockets! Stop interviewing these wastes of space stop making them relevant and it will be better

The Deuce2

So ... we need to quintuple it?

IDDQD2

That's because you are borrowing against your stocks to avoid paying taxes, right?

Craig Booth5

He also said that America has a spending problem and not a revenue problem. Just another greedy billionaire who doesn't want to pay their fair share of taxes.

scipionow.bsky.social2

Oh man. Glad I dropped my Amazon account 2 years ago. What an idiot. I thought he was educated. Nope. Just another greedy fascist.

abdajck.bsky.social3

Ok, so let's triple it. Asshole.