'The rich pay a lot of the taxes': Bill Maher criticizes AOC's 'Tax the Rich' dress she wore to the Met Gala as the congresswoman continues to defend her controversial ensemble

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Bill Maher joined in on the criticism of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'Tax the Rich' dress she wore to the Met Gala on Monday. 

The late night host took aim at the Democratic representative citing that 'the richest 65,000 New Yorkers out of eight million people pay 51 percent of taxes.' 

AOC has been criticized about her controversial appearance at the ultra-elite Met Gala before DailyMail.com revealed that she and her boyfriend Riley Roberts had their $35,000-a-head tickets comped by the museum. She turned up in a white dress with 'Tax the Rich' emblazoned on the back.

'It's not like we don't tax the rich at all,' Maher said on Thursday night's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. 'I'm all for ending income inequality, but let's not lie. The rich pay a lot of the taxes.'  

Maher is referring to a New York budget deal that was passed this year. The temporary state tax increase would rise to 9.65 percent for those earning more than $1.1 million, 10.3 for those with a income between $5 million and $25 million, and a 10.9 percent for those earning an income above $25 million. 

 New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended Monday night's Met Gala wearing a dress emblazed with 'Tax the Rich'

Maher's guests Gillian Tett, an author and Financial Times journalist, and Dan Savage, a journalist and LGBTQ+ activist, adamantly debated with Maher noting the rise in the country's wealth disparity.  

'Yes, there are lots of things we need to amend about the capitalist system. We have crony capitalism in this country, no doubt about it,' Maher conceded.

He continued, 'I'm just saying, you're wearing 'Tax the Rich' on your ass and people are always saying the rich don't pay taxes. The rich pay some taxes! They pay a big part of the freight already.

'I'm not saying it shouldn't be more perhaps, but let's not lie,' Maher added.

AOC has come under fire for her Met Gala look and now faces two ethics complaints over her attendance at one of the most exclusive events of the year. But the New York congresswoman has always been very vocal about her stance on taxing millionaires.

Since the exclusive event on Monday, she has continued to defend her ensemble and explain what exactly she is fighting for. 

The morning after the event, AOC boasted about the surge in Google searches for the words 'tax the rich'.

She wrote on Instagram: 'Surge in people looking up and discussing our f****d up tax code is and how we fix it so we can fund childcare, healthcare, climate action and student loan forgiveness for all? Aurora James understood the assignment.'  

Bill Maher joined in on the criticism of the New York Representative's 'Tax the Rich' dress listing made up satirical slogans from other celebrities including Oprah and Melania Trump

Maher claimed 'I'm all for ending income inequality, but let's not lie. The rich pay a lot of the taxes,' which was met with push back from his two guests Gillian Tett and Dan Savage

In an Instagram story posted on Friday, the congresswoman mentioned that she is hearing critiques 'especially the right wing' calling her 'Tax the Rich' dress and attendance to the Met Gala 'ironic.' 

She then pulls up the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to read the definition of irony: 'the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially in order to be funny.' 

'That's not the opposite of what I think,' AOC states. 'We need to tax the rich and we need to confront this establishment and this concentration of wealth that likes to consider or market itself as liberal or progressive but wants to do absolutely nothing to address wealth inequality and often times lobbies to protect laws, including in the democratic party, to preserve the establishment of their class interest.'

She goes on to discuss how she wants this done citing the Build Back Better Act which is currently being reviewed by the House. 

'The thing is this isn't some theoretical or abstract political statement, AOC continues. She then goes on to explain the goals of the Build Better Act, which 'is an ambitious plan to create jobs, cut taxes, and lower costs for working families – all paid for by making the tax code fairer and making the wealthiest and large corporations pay their fair share,' according the White House.  

AOC defended herself on Instagram explaining that her dress and appearance at the event was not 'ironic' because she adamantly believes and works to 'Tax the Rich' 

The complaint filed states: 'Representative Ocasio-Cortez may have violated the House Gift Rule by accepting free admission for herself and boyfriend to the Met Gala event and receiving related gifts before, during, or after the event, including the use of custom-designed dress, limousine service, the use of the Carlyle Hotel, professional hair and makeup services, and any other related services or goods'

On top of the criticism of her dress and attendance, AOC has been hit with two ethics complaints after she accepted a free $35,000 ticket for her appearance on Monday night. 

AOC has been accused of possibly violating the House Gift rule for accepting lavish gifts, including her controversial 'Tax the Rich' dress and a stay at the luxury Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The second complaint, which was filed by Paul Kamenar of the National Legal and Policy Center, to the Office of Congressional Ethics on Thursday, was obtained by Daily Caller News Foundation. 

'Representative Ocasio-Cortez may have violated the House Gift Rule by accepting free admission for herself and boyfriend to the Met Gala event and receiving related gifts before, during, or after the event, including the use of custom-designed dress, limousine service, the use of the Carlyle Hotel, professional hair and makeup services, and any other related services or goods,' the NLPC complaint stated.

The complaint criticized her acceptance of a seat at a sponsored table that costs between $200,000 and $300,000.

'In short, it is the table sponsor who is gifting or underwriting a coveted seat to AOC at the Gala,' the complaint states.

'And if the sponsor of the table where AOC sat was one paid for by one of the corporations attending the event, such as Instagram or Facebook, AOC has received a prohibited gift from the corporation that also lobbies Congress.'

The complaint also criticized AOC for bringing boyfriend Riley Roberts to the event as the House states that the second free ticket, if given, must be given to charity, spouse, or child.

'Thus, because her boyfriend is not her 'spouse or dependent,' her acceptance of an 'invite plus one' to the Met Gala would violate the Gift Rule unless AOC or her boyfriend paid for his $35,000 ticket, an unlikely scenario,' the complaint said. 

The New York Representative had a second complaint filed against her by the National Legal and Policy Center on Thursday 

The same day Vogue posted a 10-minute video documenting the Democratic congresswoman's preparations for fashion's big night out

AOC was coy about her controversial appearance at the ultra-elite Met Gala before DailyMail.com revealed she had her $35,000-a-head ticket comped by the museum. This new video shows that Vogue and AOC were partners in the controversy

The value of the dress has not been determined as dress designer Aurora Jones told CNN that the she had not calculated the cost but said that lots of salvaged material was used to make it, according to the complaint.

Despite being a personal friend, gifts can only be given in this relationship if it is 'not related to the position of your house.'

In defense of her attendance, AOC tweeted: 'New York elected officials are routinely invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing and supporting the city's cultural institutions for the public. I was one of several in attendance in this evening.'

It was noted that political figures are not often routinely invited to Met Gala events but some have attended the event including: Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Mike Bloomberg, Carolyn Maloney, and Mitt Romney.  

This complaint comes after another one was filed by The American Accountability Foundation for accepting 'an impermissible gift' of free tickets to attend the annual gala.

'Without prompt investigation and enforcement of Congressional Rules, the American people are likely to lose faith in the ability of Congress to police its members,' the complaint said, filed by AAF founder Thomas Jones.

He also wrote: '[W]hile the individual's invitations may bear the name of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum has ceded control over the invitations to a for-profit company, specifically Condé Nast, and to its Chief Content Officer, Anna Wintour.'

He added that 'the New York Times outlines that the Met does not have control over who is invited to the event, but rather the for-profit company, is in control of who gets invited.' 

According to House ethics information available online, members of Congress can only accept $100 worth of items per year from a specific source.

In addition, Congress members can also borrow works of art — in this case the 'Tax the Rich' dress AOC wore by Aurora James — as long as there's a written agreement with the owner specifying it will be returned.

'The Met Gala is seen as elite and inaccessible...As a working class woman, [I] wanted to enjoy the event but also break the fourth wall and challenge the industry,' AOC proudly told Vogue at the event.