JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon isn’t known for mincing words. His appearance at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was no exception. Dimon, a long-time advocate for policies that support America’s most vulnerable, renewed his call for an increase in the earned income tax credit — even if it means more taxes on the wealthy.
The Wall Street veteran himself said he would be more than happy to pay more taxes if he knew the money would end up in the hands of people who need it, rather than in Washington’s coffers.
The 69-year-old banker said that while the U.S. economy is performing relatively well, consumers are living in a K-shaped economy. This describes the wealth divide between rich and low-income people: those in the higher income tracks are on the rise, while those on the lower income tracks are on the decline.
Dimon said the situation of high-income earners is “much better” and “they own homes and stocks.” He added that lower-income groups have no emergency funds, jobs are becoming harder to find and income growth has stalled. One way to redress the balance, he said, is to double the earned income tax credit.
He explained: “I would give people who work more money as tax liabilities… I would remove the child requirement. You give it to the people who actually use it to further their lives, spend money in the community, take care of their children, rather than the government dictating how you spend your money on every little thing.”
There are, of course, two ways to pay for this fiscal stimulus. One approach is to simply write off the revenue the tax would have generated for the government, an approach that has been tried by many governments. Dimon believes this may be justified because the increase in consumer spending will offset the tax loss.
On the other hand, the United States currently faces a huge federal deficit. For example, in fiscal year 2025, the government spent $7 trillion running the country but raised only $5.32 trillion in revenue from sources such as taxes and import duties. That left a $1.78 trillion deficit that quickly added to the mounting national debt.
The national debt figure now exceeds $38 trillion, with The government spent about $276 billion on interest payments This happened in the last three months of fiscal 2025 alone. So, as Dimon said, further reducing revenue through tax cuts may be difficult.
But even if you have to raise taxes a little bit, “that doesn’t matter,” Dimon said. The problem is that when taxes go up, people on the street don’t see the change in the world around them. “Who thinks sending another trillion dollars to Washington, D.C., will actually improve anything?” the CEO asked. “If you said raise taxes and give it directly to people who need it? That’s what I’d do.”
But “that was not the case,” the banker continued, claiming the funds were instead given to interest groups and their “friends.” “That’s why people think it’s a swamp,” Dimon continued. “It’s kind of like a swamp.”