In policy proposals posted to her website, Harris called for an increase in the overall minimum wage and for the end of the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
I dislike the elimination of taxes on tips because it opens a new loophole for rich assholes but I’m 100% behind eliminating sub-minimum wages.
It does feel like we should be encouraging the end of tipping, not asking it to stick around forever.
Removing the minimum wage exception to tips does help with that. Part of the reason why tips are inventived
Plus taxes on tips as they exist already has quite a number of assumptions that tipping will always exist. For instance, assumptions of a minimum 8% tip rate for reporting. Which will be withheld from pay from at least that assumption (which you can get back if you earn less by filling)
Harris’s proposal specifically includes an income limit to prevent people like hedge fund managers and lawyers from structuring their pay as “tips”. Trump’s version predictability does not.
It sucks for more than just that though. There’s 0 reason for tipped workers to pay less in taxes over workers making the same just by virtue of being tipped.
I would say the reliability of pay is a good reason. Tipped workers can’t count on a consistent amount of money. A bad month or even a bad week can mean rent doesn’t get paid.
That can happen to anyone if they’re fired.
And that’s why we have workers compensation. The government subsidizes wages in times of hardship. Cutting taxes on tips would allow those workers to weather periodic lulls better.
And to clarify, she is also calling for an overall increased minimum wage at the same time
Cue countless restaurant owners whining and trying to seriously complain that they can’t “compete” without underpaying their employees.
How about we do a maximum wage instead?
That’s almost as good as raising the minimum wage. Almost.