Ballmer, Bezos Fund Effort To Undermine Bill Gates

theodp writes "You know what they say — it takes money to avoid paying money. TechFlash reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos have contributed $100,000 each to an effort to defeat an income tax on individuals in Washington state making more than $200,000. The backers of Initiative 1098, which is set for the November ballot, include Bill Gates (Sr.), who has emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of the income tax. Under the proposal, which has drawn the ire of the Bezos and Ballmer-backed Defeat 1098, no tax would be due on the first $200K of income, 5% tax would be owed on income between $200K and $500K, and everything above $500K would be subject to a 9% tax (cutoffs are doubled for joint returns)."

because paying taxes is so middle class

[Anonymous Coward]

Ballmer and Bezos will probably figure out how to deduct their "donation" too.

Re:Cry me a river, billionaires

[LifesABeach]

The pressure of being a multi-billionaire is immense. Maybe these tragic ones could find peace in some other climate. Maybe a place where Monsoons are spelled with accent marks? But why there? Well, that was were their wealth came from of course. There's good times there, and everyone knows their name.

Re:Just pay the tax

[TheRaven64]

This guy Ballmer has a salary of only $1,276,627 per year-- give him a break, he's almost working for free, by the standards of American CEO salary.

Hmm, I wonder if Microsoft shareholders would agree that he is worth 1,276,627 times as much as Steve Jobs. Maybe they hired the wrong Steve...

Re:Cry me a river, billionaires

[Anonymous Coward]

their money is their own, not yours, and not the state's.

Since the "little people" can vote for this tax, then obviously it is.