NEW YORK CITY — Amazon Executive Chair Jeff Bezos accused politicians of villainizing the ultra-wealthy and using tax policy as a political wedge issue to distract from bigger challenges facing the country. Bezos called for exempting working-class residents from taxes following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposal for a pied-à-terre tax.

"I think what's going on is that it's kind of a tale of two economies — so 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," Bezos said. "Some people talk about making the tax system more progressive. How about we start by having the nurse in Queens not pay taxes?"

Bezos is the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of more than $270 billion. He moved to Miami, and his companies are headquartered in Washington state.

Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist, took office as mayor of New York City in January. He announced a proposed pied-à-terre tax that would apply to residential property owners who do not live in New York City full time. "We're taxing the rich," Mamdani said in a video outside 220 Central Park South.

Billionaires and high-end real estate agents warned that Mamdani's victory and his policies would drive businesses and the wealthy out of New York City. Signed contracts for Manhattan luxury apartments priced at $4 million or more jumped 25% in November following Mamdani's election.

Other states have moved on high-income taxes. Washington state approved a millionaires tax in March. Massachusetts, Maryland and Maine have passed dedicated high-income taxes in recent years. In January, the governor of Rhode Island endorsed the idea of a millionaires tax. Lawmakers in Connecticut, Illinois, Colorado and California have proposed similar high-income taxes.

An estimated 40% of U.S. households did not owe any individual income taxes for the 2024 tax year, according to the Tax Policy Center. The top 1% of U.S. households pay about 40% of federal income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. The bottom half of taxpayers, those earning less than $53,801 annually, faced an average income tax rate of 3.7% in 2023, while the top 1% paid an average income tax rate of 26.3%, according to Tax Foundation data.