Posted on 06/19/2024 10:47:07 AM PDT by karpov
The election campaign between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is so far largely a personal showdown, but their policy ideas matter to the country’s prosperity. Mr. Trump can claim the better record on the economy, thanks in part to his 2017 tax reform, so it’s too bad he’s now floating special-favor tax ideas like exempting worker tips from federal taxes.
“For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy,” Mr. Trump said on a recent swing through Nevada, “because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips.” He repeated the line in Florida: “We need to spread the word so that every time you leave a tip for the next five months, you put on the receipt: Vote for Trump because there’s no tax on tips!”
The political play for working-class voters here is blatant, and no doubt it will be popular with tipped workers. Mr. Trump at least wants to reduce taxes (except for tariffs), while Mr. Biden is promising several trillion dollars in tax increases. Mr. Trump’s play to hotel workers and waiters is also less economically damaging than President Biden’s vote-buying with welfare spending and student-loan forgiveness. Exempting tips could encourage more work among some parts of the labor force.
But Mr. Trump is pitching another carve-out that would erode the tax base. Many tips currently go unreported as income, and the lost revenue from an exemption is hard to estimate. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which dislikes most tax cuts, figures the exemption would cost the federal fisc at least $150 billion over 10 years.
One problem is that workers and many employers will inevitably rearrange their income to exploit the tips tax advantage.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Nope, don't agree. Puts more cash in regular Joe's pockets.
No tax on tips is a tax cut that goes directly to the working class. Thays why the thugs in “conservative intelligentsia” don’t like it. Then want some complicated line item. Go away and stop trying to undermine the campaign
I am happy when anyone gets to keep more of his/her own money.
I want to keep more of mine.
cost the federal fisc at least $150 billion over 10 years
Ukraine got 60 billion in 1 year. Take it out or his fund. Not to mention this doesn’t COST the government anything. It sounds like these fools assume every dime is theirs and any moneu that theyblet the people keep is a cost to the government. The heck it is!
WSJ doesn’t like it because it will get lot of votes from a group previously lip locked to Democrats
I say this as someone who consistently tips 20% or more, and sometimes 50%-100% at places that treat me like family.
I would rather tipping go away altogether, and staff be paid for the value of their labor by the business. When I am travelling to places where there is no tipping, I get just as good of service. Frequently better. This is likely because too many complaints would get a server fired.
In Italy “’Servizio incluso’ means that service is included, meaning they’ve already figured in a tip for you – it’s usually around 15% – so the total due on your final bill is all you’ll owe. If the service has been particularly outstanding or you’ve had a great experience, you can compliment the waiter by rounding up or leaving a couple Euro on the table.”
https://europeupclose.com/article/tipping-in-europe/
No, reducing tax rates, as I advocated, is not a “complicated line item”.
I think Trump suggested doing away with income taxes all together in favor of tariffs.
Makes Joe Small Town Who Doesn’t Have Tipped Workers pay more to make up for it.
No, thanks.
Taxing tips was always stupid. I always tip in cash so the server/cook/busboy can just pocket it.
Even though it wouldn’t make much of a dent on their returns [see above], the idea is wildly popular.
Dementiacrats are just pissed they didn’t think of it first.
You are only using the onenpolicy, nontax on tips, which is being highlighted because it plays well to the public and ignoring the rest of his policy. He has, on more than one occasion, said he’ll ALSO be cutting personal taxes and corporate taxes across the board. He’s even floated getting rid of the income tax entirely. The issue he puts to the forefront for the campaign is not thw whole policy. Sheesh.
Tips are pay and treated as such within the business, the employers know it and the people who work for tips know it.
You don’t tip everyone because you know who works for tips as pay and who doesn’t.
You do not tip everybody because not everybody deserves a tip.
How is that Biden lite? Leave it to WSJ. What has Biden done for the average working stiff besides drive them into poverty?
LOL, you would be amazed at the people going out of their way for you that you don’t even think to tip.
I’ve been in service work in different forms and some is known to require tipping and others aren’t so people don’t, no matter how much you do for them.
Besides, for a topless dancer her job is to dance, for a waiter, it is his job to bring you your food and refill your glass, it isn’t like they came down out of the summer attic running wire or from crawling through mud and water under your house in the winter to fix a leak to suddenly be really nice and set some food plates in front of you.
Tips are payments for services rendered. Since the restauranteur pays the waiter only a pittance, the waiter isn't working for him. The waiter is working for you, the customer.
Thank you!
Nice try, but that electrician and that plumber are already making sixty bucks an hour, your waitress may even be exempted from getting the minimum wage. I used to own a restaurant.. Hardest working people I know were the wait staff.
“”””Nice try, but that electrician and that plumber are already making sixty bucks an hour, your waitress may even be exempted from getting the minimum wage. I used to own a restaurant.. Hardest working people I know were the wait staff.””””
Thank you, those tips are their wages and we all know it.
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