Kamala Harris Joins Trump In Pushing For Tax-Free Tips – Critics Say It's A 'Silly Idea' No Matter Who's Behind It

Vice President Kamala Harris promises to end taxation on tipped income, a move that has drawn both applause and skepticism. The weekend announcement at a Las Vegas rally opened debates across the political spectrum, especially in Nevada, a state with many tipped workers. Harris’s proposal mirrors one floated two months earlier by former President Donald Trump, immediately drawing accusations of idea theft and political posturing.

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“This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas; she can only steal from me,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. Ex-President Trump wasted no time criticizing Harris, dismissing her proposal as a mere copycat effort. His comments have fueled the already heated discourse, with observers noting that the similarities between the two proposals are hard to ignore.

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The Harris campaign has since pushed back against the allegations and given specific details to distinguish her plan. Her campaign team indicated that this exemption from the tax would be coupled with a push to increase the minimum wage, which would extend more significant benefits to workers. A campaign spokesman clarified, “There will be an income limit to cap who can take the exemption,” adding that there would be “strict requirements to prevent hedge-fund managers and lawyers from structuring their compensation in ways to try to take advantage of the policy.”

The exemption proposed by Harris would apply to income taxes, but tipped workers would still be responsible for paying payroll taxes used to fund Social Security and Medicare. According to the campaign, this distinction makes Harris’s plan more fiscally accountable than Trump’s, which critics say could add anywhere from $150 to $250 billion to the federal debt over a decade.

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Not everyone is convinced that eliminating taxes on tips is a good idea. “Policy-wise, it’s a ridiculous idea. It’s not a good way to provide tax relief to working-class people,” said Erica York, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank. York explained that the policy was more political than substantive and termed it a catchy but ineffective way of addressing economic challenges facing tipped workers.

Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage called the proposal “a superficial attempt to address the affordability crisis faced by service workers.” Jayaraman has been a vigorous advocate for eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped workers and has reiterated that the federal minimum, for example, has remained $2.13 an hour for over three decades. 

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Critics, however, are more concerned by Harris’s proposal’s long-term economic implications. Marc Goldwein, a senior vice president with the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, expressed worries about adding to the massive federal debt. “The result will be a big bill for our kids and grandkids and higher interest costs than we already have,” Goldwein warned.

Despite much criticism, axing tip taxes is an idea that’s catching on, particularly in Nevada. According to Sen. Ted Cruz, a close ally of Trump, this single issue could secure the most votes for the GOP in the swing state. “I think Trump wins Nevada on that one issue alone,” Cruz said, highlighting the importance of tipped workers in the state's economy.

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