Harris copies Trump's promise on no tax for tips
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally on August 10. Photo: Ronda Churchill via Getty Images.
Vice President Kamala Harris in Nevada on Saturday promised to eliminate taxes on tips, two months after former President Trump promised to do the same.
Why it matters: Their rare point of agreement underscores the bipartisan popularity of the novel piece of economic policy.
- "It is my promise to everyone here when I am president we will continue to fight for working families, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers," Harris told a crowd 12,000 people in University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Saturday.
- "This was a TRUMP idea - She has no ideas, she can only steal from me," Trump wrote on TruthSocial, accusing Harris of taking the position for "Political Purposes."
Zoom in: Harris was endorsed by Nevada's powerful Culinary Union on Saturday, which represents 60,000 hospitality workers.
- Back in June, also in Las Vegas, Trump embraced the idea of "no tax on tips" after a Nevada waitress who served his table conveyed to Trump that she felt the government was taking too much of the money she earns as tips by taxing her.
- "They come in and they take so much of our money, it's just ridiculous," the waitress told Trump, Trump recalled at the RNC in Milwaukee.
How it happened: After Trump first introduced the idea at rally in early June, the Republican Party adopted the policy proposal as a part of the Republican National Committee's 2024 platform.
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill exempting tips from federal income tax that received supported from both of Nevada's Democratic Senators: Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto.
- "We will pass it as soon as we can," said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
- Soon, other Democratic lawmakers started voicing their support. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day—he may be right about this one," said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) about Trump's idea.
Between the lines: Neither Trump nor Harris specified whether their proposals would eliminate just the income tax — or both the income tax and payroll taxes that service workers pay on their tips.
- Payroll taxes fund Medicare and Social Security.
- The vagueness of both candidates' current proposals means it's also unclear exactly how many people this would affect.
By the numbers: There were 2.19 million waiters and waitresses across the country as of 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- But two-thirds of restaurant workers who work for tips earn so little that they don't pay federal income taxes.
