New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit back at Jeff Bezos on Wednesday after Bezos questioned whether raising taxes on billionaires would actually help working-class New Yorkers. Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Bezos said, “You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you.” Mamdani responded on X, “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.”
Bezos pushes for lower taxes on working Americans
During the interview with CNBC, Bezos argued that lower-income Americans should pay less tax. He said the bottom half of earners in the United States should pay no federal income tax at all. “I don’t think it should be 3%,” Bezos said while referring to the share of taxes currently paid by lower earners. “I think it should be zero.” Bezos also pointed to income inequality in the country. “You have a bunch of people in this country who are doing really well, but you also have a bunch of people in this country who are struggling,” he said. He added, “A nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes. Does that really make sense?”
Debate over taxing the wealthy
The exchange has added more heat to Mamdani’s tax-the-rich campaign, which has become a major part of his push to improve city services and tackle New York City’s affordability crisis. Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul are supporting a proposed pied-a-terre tax on luxury second homes worth $5 million or more. Mamdani has said the tax could generate around $500 million every year for the city. However, New York City’s comptroller has estimated the actual revenue could be lower between $340 million and $380 million annually if wealthy homeowners change their behaviour to avoid the tax.
Bezos says billionaires are being villainised
Bezos also accused politicians of unfairly targeting wealthy people and using them as political villains. He called it an “age-old technique” of “picking a villain and pointing fingers.” “The problem is, that doesn’t solve anything,” Bezos said. The Amazon founder also criticised Mamdani over a video in which the mayor called out Ken Griffin while discussing the new luxury-home tax proposal.
“It isn’t right” for the mayor to “stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he is some kind of villain,” Bezos said. “Ken Griffin isn’t a villain, he hasn’t hurt anybody, he’s not hurting New York, in fact quite the opposite.” When asked whether higher taxes on wealthy Americans should come alongside tax cuts for lower earners, Bezos said it was a fair discussion to have but criticised what he called the “vilification” of rich people. “We already have the most progressive tax system in the world,” Bezos said. He also argued that government overspending, and not lack of tax revenue, is the real reason behind the country’s fiscal problems.