It can't be removed, but you can go to Settings->Labels and set it to "hide", then just ignore it.

What is the purpose of the important folder in Gmail?

The "Important" label is assigned by Google, based on Google's adaptive understanding of your interests and priorities. If you no longer wish to view messages with the Important label, you can either re-train Google or hide the folder.

Why does my Gmail mark everything as important?

1 Answer. If you hover over the "important" icon, Gmail will tell you why it marked the particular message as important. It could just be that you've interacted quite a bit with such messages in the past. Mark as "not important" and Gmail will learn better how to mark these.