Don’t be nieve. Please point out to me where on the planet or when in human history have peasants, the working poor or the starving have sat around worrying about the shortfalls of the kings budget? In my lifetime, I’ve never heard of the idea of making tips for food service workers tax free. The Democrats, the party of the working class (lol), should have come up with this long ago. If Democrats oppose this now, they better not verbalize it while dining out in public where the wait staff can overhear it. If opposed by anti-Trumpers, they should expect even more people going over to the Trump camp. As simple as Corn Pone Politics discovered my Mark Twain over 150 yesrs ago.
From the linked article:
“You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I’ll tell you what his opinions is.”
Make the Republicans the party of tax free tips & they’ll be a lot more apron wearing, tray carrying Republicans.
It wasn’t until credit cards became a common way to pay for meals in the 1980s that the IRS (and state tax agencies) started chasing restaurants and waitresses to pay tax on tips.
There was a lot of resistance. The IRS coerced restaurant owners with an imputed 10% tax on gross sales if they did not make waitresses report enough tips to be more than that amount.
I know this, if you tell the young lady that you hope the tips she’s about to earn gets taxed before the song starts you ain’t getting a good lap dance. If the Dems want to fight Trump on taxing tips then they need to get a MAGA hat just to wear while eating out because the restaurant workers ain’t going to like it either. People with donkey bumper stickers will need to inspect their food really good.
In most other rich countries the waiters and other service staff are paid good enough, not having to rely upon tips for a living wage.
PS> In some countries a “service charge” may be added to you bill, though.
There may be a “tips jar/box” placed on a desk near the exit, or cashier counter, where customers may drop in a few coins (or bills) to show their gratitude for exceptional good service. Tips collected are sheared by the staff.
Tipping is a barbaric American custom. Tips have gotten way out of hand.
For decades a 15% tip on the cost of food and drink (before sales tax) was standard, IF service was good.
Now it has crept up to 20% is Expected, and often a mandatory part of the bill. Tips up to 30% on everything including the sales tax are now suggested.
More and more people expect tips. Even at places with no table service where you have to be your own waitress, the sales girls that do nothing except take your money expect tips. Suggested tips up to 30% are shown on the point of sale screen.
Tipping is out of hand. Eliminating the income tax on tips will probable make this worse.
Every advice that the visitor to the US receives gives a guide to tipping for service. We were led to understand that bar staff and waiters were taxed a set amount whether they had received a tip or not.
Of course if you are a billionaire you don’t pay much tax as no one writes a check to you every month or week so no payroll tax. After $168,000 a year everyone is exempt from payroll tax for SS and Medicare. Only poor working folks pay taxes to support the old and poor.
The last several years of my working life I got a raise by July or September because I legally met the maximum contribution by law for contributing to Social Security. That was nice but I was doing just fine and got annoyed when people said that SS was going broke. Well, no shit. Make ALL income subject to SS contributions, even the millionaires should pay their fair share, they’ll survive. They grew up in a country that gave them the opportunity to be rich, the least they can do is pay the same tax rate on income, social security and Medicare that I do. I do not think that is too much to ask.