Jeff Bezos' Washington DC, NYC homes targeted in pro-tax millionaire group's protests

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Millionaires in favor of hiking taxes on the rich are launching protests in Washington, D.C., and New York on Monday, including outside the homes of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The effort, which comes on Tax Day, is organized by Patriotic Millionaires, a group of individuals with annual incomes over $1 million or assets over $5 million.

A spokesperson for the organization told FOX Business that Bezos is the main focus of the protest because "as the richest man in the world, he is the leading beneficiary of the unequal treatment our nation's tax code gives the rich and powerful."

"Our ask is that Bezos and all other billionaires, along with Amazon and other multinational corporations, stop using their power and their wealth to pressure politicians and resist changes that would make the tax code more fair," the spokesperson added. 

Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos speaks to the media on the companys sustainability efforts on September 19, 2019 in Washington,DC. (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

According to Forbes, Bezos has a net worth of over $188 billion. Monday's protests are the latest to target the Amazon chief executive. 

A similar protest organized by The Congress of Essential Workers, a group founded by former Amazon employee Christian Smalls, occurred in October outside of Bezos' Beverly Hills mansion. Smalls also organized protests at Bezos' D.C. and New York homes last summer, the former of which featured a guillotine.

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In addition to the protests outside of Bezos' homes on Monday, trucks will make stops at the Wall Street Bull, The Federal Reserve Building, Chuck Schumer's Senate office, and Billionaires' Row on 57th Street in New York.

In Washington, stops include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's house, the Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Capitol building and the National Mall, The Trump Hotel, the DNC, and the House and Senate office buildings.

Three billboards have also been launched against Bezos and other billionaires, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. One of the billboards reads "Tax the rich. Save America. Yes, it really is that simple," while another features the three business leaders laughing and reads, "Tax me if you can."

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President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan, a $2.3 trillion spending plan introduced at the beginning of April, would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, reversing a key part of Republicans' 2017 tax law. 

The measure would also impose a higher global minimum on companies' foreign earnings and restore the top personal income tax rate to 39.6% – where it sat before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – for the highest 1% of earners. 

Biden would also increase the capital gains rate to 39.6% from 20% for households earning $1 million or more, bringing that rate in line with the top marginal income tax rate. The administration estimates it will affect roughly 0.3% of taxpayers, or about 500,000 households.

"No one making $400,000 per year or less will see their taxes go up," the White House has said. 

Coupled with an existing Medicare surcharge, federal tax rates for the wealthy could climb as high as 43.4% – bringing the levy on returns on financial assets higher than rates on ordinary income.  

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While Amazon did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment on Monday's planned protests, the company previously shared a statement from Bezos in April in which he expressed his support for raising the corporate tax rate. However, the statement stopped short of backing Biden's plan. 

"We support the Biden Administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure," Bezos said in a statement. "We recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides — both on the specifics of what’s included as well as how it gets paid for (we’re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate)."

Patriotic Millionaires is chaired by former Blackrock executive Morris Pearl. Other members include filmmaker Abigail Disney, the daughter of the late Disney executive Roy Disney, and philanthropist Molly Munger, daughter of Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger.  

FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report

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