Millionaire Protestors Target Jeff Bezos On Tax Day
This yearâs tax deadline will see an unusual picket line outside a variety of locales in New York and Washington: millionaires protesting in favor of higher taxes on the rich.
The group Patriotic Millionaires has organized for 30 protestors, all millionaires, to picket Amazon founder Jeff Bezosâ residences and several political offices, accompanied by mobile billboards.
Erica Payne, founder and president of the club, told CNBC that Bezosâ massive hoard showed how broken the tax system is. âJeff Bezos is the poster child for the total idiocy of the countryâs tax code,â she said.
Forbes estimates Bezosâ wealth at over $190 billion. Amazon representatives have declined to publicly comment on Mondayâs protests, but Bezos has previously said heâs in favor of higher corporate taxes.
The protestors will also be stopping outside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellâs Washington residence, and the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in New York City.
Also targeted are the D.C. offices for the Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Heritage Foundation, Democratic National Committee, Americans for Tax Reform, the IRS and former President Donald Trumpâs Old Post Office hotel.
They will be accompanied by billboards bearing the faces of other ultra-wealthy individuals like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. One shows the three laughing with the slogan âtax me if you can.â
Another simply says, âCut the [expletive.] Tax the rich.â
Corporate taxes have taken center stage after President Joe Biden proposed hiking them to pay for his sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure bill. Republicans, however, oppose any tax increases to pay for the measure, and Biden has signaled heâs willing to compromise his vision.
Progressive voices have also been calling attention to the tax system. Among the proposals Patriotic Millionaires supports is Elizabeth Warrenâs suggested âultra millionaire tax.â
Photo: AFP / Eric BARADAT