Back in the old days, we had to report tips to the gov. It was an unwritten rule, a dollar an hour, so 40 hours was $40. Now, it’s a percentage of your sales. The gov has just intruded too much into our lives. I said on a different thread, what’s so bad about being undocumented? I’d love the gov not knowing what I’m doing.
Ah, the good ole days when you could under-report tips and avoid supporting the welfare state with your hard earned (and still low) earnings. Out of that minimum wage you were paid, all the SoSecurity taxes and such were withdrawn, so you were paying your required minimums. But cash tips? What tips, Mr IRS Agent?
And you know what? You couldn’t buy a car on credit, couldn’t rent a decent apartment, not because you avoided taxes, but because your job was viewed with such contempt. And still is!
I can go both ways on that. I feel that it’s morally reprehensible for a restaurant owner to underpay the staff and have them depend on the largess of the customers to make up the difference in their salary. And then take part of that. I can understand that busboys and cook staff don’t get tips other than what the waitstaff offers but then cooks get paid more. Just saying.