A good idea is a good idea – perhaps that is why Kamala Harris is stealing some of former President Trump’s ideas on various issues, such as his proposal to not tax tips. The vice president is acting like it was her idea, and in an even more encouraging development, a Democratic congressman – Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) – on Tuesday introduced a bill to make tips for service staff tax-free.
Representative. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) on Tuesday formally introduced a bill to eliminate the federal tax on tips, a proposal supported by both major presidential candidates.
The Tipped Income Protection and Support (TIPS) Act also eliminates subminimum wages for workers who receive tips to “prevent employers or top earners from taking advantage of the elimination of federal taxation on tips,” Horsford said.
Democrat or not, it’s a good idea. Tax cuts are always good, and this one will motivate workers in the service industries who traditionally get tips – restaurant waiters and so on. Former President Trump has also proposed “no tax on overtime,” which would be an even better idea; do you want to see hourly workers’ productivity explode? Then you’ll incentivize them to work longer hours without having to worry about tax jumps.
Incentives are crucial.
See also: Trump’s “No Tax on Tips” Movement Grows
Tax Foundation on Trump’s proposal not to tax tips – good idea or pointless endeavor?
But let’s get back to the “no tax on tips” issue. Here’s the fun part. Democratic Rep. Horsford not only supports this “no tax on tips” idea, which comes from the Democrats’ worst nightmare, Donald Trump, but he actually wrote and introduced a bill. He’s very proud of it, too; he gave a speech on the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday, ringing at least one predictable bell.
“I am proud to introduce legislation today because a disproportionate share of the six million tipped workers – including women and people of color – earn just 2.13 cents an hour, which is truly poverty wages – at a time when families and workers are trying to make a living,” Horsford said at the event.
Horsford’s bill would exempt up to $112,500 in tips for service workers nationwide from income taxes.
“Latinas and black women in particular face significant wage disparities and earn less than their white male counterparts. If we are serious about income equality and closing the gender pay gap, then this is the bill people need to get behind,” Horsford said.
So it’s a good idea that was introduced for crazy reasons. And it’s still a good idea.
Now let’s assume (and hope) that Donald Trump is sworn in as president in January 2025 and that Congress is controlled by Republicans. Now is the chance to implement Trump’s agenda, and we can count on one thing: Democrats will vigorously oppose anything a Republican Congress might try to do.
Including “no tax on tips.”
Political parties are often schizophrenic beasts, and that’s especially true of today’s Democrats. Still, refusing to support a bill that one of them authored and introduced in the last Congress is probably going too far. This bill could very well pass, and you can bet that newly sworn-in President Trump will make a gigantic fuss about his signature. Democrats may oppose it because the Orange Man is Bad, but it’s a sure bet that some will abandon ship — and even if they don’t, it’s a political victory for Republicans and a financial victory for waiters and other tip recipients across the fertile plains.
A win-win situation.
