Taxing Tips — Yes or No?

TAXING TIPS — YES OR NO?

I haven’t taken a hard position on this issue yet, but I lean strongly AGAINST the idea of stopping taxes on tips.

Both major presidential candidates have recently come out in favor of ceasing the practice of federal taxation on tips. It seems to me this is blatant pandering to service industry workers, specifically here in Nevada where I live and which has a substantial number of tipped employees (who vote). Trump announced he would stop taxes on tips “on day one” (a lie), but Harris wasn’t much better following up with a similar policy she announced last Saturday night while speaking to a huge crowd in Las Vegas. Excuse the pun, but this issue could be a “tipping point” in the swing state of Nevada.

Aside from the political posturing purely to win votes, I also view this as really bad public policy. Face it, taxes are necessary. Moreover, the federal budget carries a massive amount of debt. Reducing the amount of tax money collected strikes me as irresponsible. Especially, right now.

I also believe everyone should pay some amount of taxes. The specific income levels and rates of taxation are open to debate, but we should *all* have some vested financial interest in our government. I’m also a big advocate for shifting the federal tax burden more heavily onto those who have skated free, been the beneficiaries of a cavernous income gap, taken advantage of loopholes, and ditched their tax responsibilities for years — which mostly applies to the super wealthy. Hence, the basic idea of shifting taxation from the working class towards those with high incomes is something I do favor.

The current system of taxation on tips is imperfect, of course. We should make changes, and perhaps even overhaul the system. That said, the proposal to cease taxation on tips and removed federal tax obligation on tipped employees is troubling, and something I do not support.

I’m open to reading and listening to counterarguments on this question in your comments.