(DailyAnswer.org) – Former President Donald Trump has announced plans to make income that workers receive from tips exempt from federal taxes if he is re-elected in November. When he made the announcement on a campaign stop at Las Vegas, it met with loud cheers from the crowd. The former president told the audience that he intended to press Congress to take action, promising to call for taxes on tips earned by hotel and restaurant workers to be scrapped.
Trump said that removing the taxes on tips will be the first thing he does in office, pointing out that it has been a “point of contention” for many workers for “years and years”. The IRS considers tip money ordinary taxable income regardless of what form it takes. Cash, credit-card and debit-card tips received directly by the worker count as income, as does tip money paid by the employer.
According to surveys, more than half of Americans have a negative view of tipping, 35% of whom think tipping has gotten out of control and 37% of whom support increasing workers’ wages instead so that they are not so reliant on tips to make a living. Commentator Phil Kerpen commented on X that Libertarian and former Republican Ron Paul has long called for taxes on tips to be removed, adding that it is “always a crowd pleaser” in Nevada.
A senior adviser announced ahead of the event that Trump also plans to attempt to work with Nevada’s Culinary Workers Union, which has previously worked more closely with Democrats. The union recently unendorsed a number of Democratic lawmakers who voted to scrap cleaning requirements that were placed on the Casino industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The union promptly criticized Trump’s vow to cut taxes on tips, calling it a “wild” campaign pledge of a “convicted felon”.
A pro-Trump account comment on X that tips showed gratitude for good service and should not be taxed. The MAGA account added that tipping stimulated the economy while also putting money in the pockets of the people.
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