Also a nice little tax dodge, at least back of the day when tipping was predominantly done in cash that I'm sure was never declared on the waiters taxes.
The thing with the no tax on tips thing pandered by both major condidates is that most waiters don’t make enough to be paying income tax in the first place. On the other hand, more regressive taxes on income (OASDI/Medicare/IL state income tax) would apply, but none of these would be covered.
professional wait staff sure make enough to pay income tax; it's a skilled trade. In Canada the tax authority would audit service industry people who don't declare other income, where tips get captured.
That's not generally true. My friend worked at a waiter in the 90's and was making $200-$300 a night on tips on the weekend. Definitely not reported income either.
> don’t make enough
> That's not generally true. [...] in the 90's and was making
These are not contradictory?
The downvotes are perplexing. Could someone explain how a statement about income in the 1990s contradicts one about 2024?