Jeff Bezos says bottom half of earners should pay zero in income taxes
cnbc.com> However, when counting refundable tax credits, the bottom 40% of taxpayers already pay no income tax,
I’ve paid taxes on my income since I was 15. At no point in my life have I paid zero income tax. Especially when I was dirt poor.
Every time I make more money I pay less tax.
Two things can be true at the same time.
- You have paid income taxes on your income since I was 15.
- When counting refundable tax credits, the bottom 40% of taxpayers already pay no income tax,
Not to mention that pay roll taxes are where the poor are hit the most, even if their income tax rate is small, payroll taxes are almost flat rate.
And that's why Bezos is blowing smoke into the ass of public.
Zeroing income tax for bottom half is not so big deal as it sound, because bottom half pays other taxes more and after counting refundable tax credits, the bottom 40% of taxpayers already pay no income tax,
it is very much in Bezos's self-interest to frame the question in terms of "whose taxes should we cut"
he wants to avoid at all costs a discussion of "whose taxes should we raise"
I agree. But ask him if Amazon will increase the taxes they pay to make up the difference (oh, no. Not that. No, no no.)