“No tax on tips” is an industry plant

Yes.

Sad if this is no longer the case.

In the UK at least (and the rest of Europe too, as far as I can tell), this is still very much the case. The curve varies with the individuals tipping. I would be quite happy to give 20% if the service was outstanding. I’m equally happy to not tip at all if the service was very poor.

IMHO, this isn't a new phenomenon. Close to 18 years ago, I lived in a city with a popular pizza spot that was about a 10 minute walk away. Normally I'd walk, but having a newborn make that challenging, so I'd get delivery.

Typically, the delivery would take 60+ minutes on a busy night, but after a few consecutive Fridays of a decent tip for the order, the pizza would arrive "burn your fingers" in about 20 minutes.

I'm from Europe, and have traveled here extensively. Tipping is pretty rare, but for the past maybe 5 years, almost all new payment terminals have the tipping option.

In my state an employer is only responsible for raising an employee's effective wage (for the entire pay period) to minimum wage if the tips don't.

You can tip someone working as a waiter $100 and unless they've already hit minimum wage for that pay period, all you're doing is handing $100 to the owner because it's $100 they don't have to pay in wages. Once the waiter has met minimum wage, then the money actually goes to them.

When I do go to a restaurant that has tipping, people are usually nice to me as well, but I don’t feel like they’re really any nicer or better at their job than my local Taco Bell workers.

It's also why "knowing a guy" can be useful, tradesmen coming in on their off hours to do a job for cash.

Eh? I don't know if you consider Poland eastern europe(I don't really), but I tip with a card all the time in Poland, you just ask "hey can I leave a tip on the card" and they bump up the amount by whatever you want to tip. And no, the amount doesn't then equal what's on the receipt - I don't know how they work it out internally, but frankly that's not my problem.

I've had these things in the US. In fact the service generally I've had is all for show, people being really "fake nice" and / or overbearing but then forgetting drinks or food items you ordered.

At least in the UK you can genuinely not tip someone without worrying about them being unable make rent..

Good service is common in industries where tipping doesn’t happen. What makes restaurants special that their workers can’t provide good service if all of their pay comes from their employer just like everyone else’s?

Taking one of these items out of the cost and trying to charge it separately is a strange practice.

But I do know this is still the case in Japan. Some Japanese service workers or small business owners will even be insulted if you try to tip.

1. Places where service workers are paid peanuts or nothing and tipping is considered mandatory

2. Places where workers get a basic actual salary and tipping is rather voluntary (and can be more or less expected)

3. Places where tipping is not an actual practice and can make things awkward even, depending the amount.

In reality, 2 is a spectrum between 1 and 3.

Tipping sucks and your taxes suck too. When I see that something costs 15€ on the menu then I expect to pay 15€ and nothing more. How can you be happy about surprise taxes? How can you plan your spending when you don't see how much something costs and you still think this is superior?

We tend to avoid touristy areas, though, when we travel, so maybe that explains the better service. If I had to work in a service job that caters to tourists, I'd probably be less happy too.

That's nonsense. In the UK if the service is good I leave a tip. If it isn't then I don't. From my (limited) experience in the US it looks like you have to tip regardless. If that's the tipping culture then that culture is rotten.

>>The service is so, so much better in the U.S. because of tipping.

Honest question - do you consider waiters who ask you if you need anything every 2 minutes "good"?

>> The service at restaurants everywhere in Europe was at best mediocre

What's your opinion on restaurants in Poland? Was the service better or worse than in Spain? How was it compared to Czechia and Slovakia?

I've got great and shit service in Europe.

I've got great and shit service in the US.

Tip/no-tip hasn't been a factor.

Workers who earn too little to pay taxes (A) will not benefit from a tax cut (B).

But workers who earn enough (not A) may still not benefit (not B), for example because their employer indirectly pockets the difference. That is actually being argued in the article.

So this is indeed the appropriate way of formulating the statement: at least 40% of workers will demonstrably not benefit from this.

The whole "I get taxed whether you tip me or not", "I have to pay to serve you if you don't tip"? No, not so much. If you can show (there's even a hugely burdensome IRS form that might take as much as 3-4 minutes a month for cash tips) that you earned less than that 8% average, then that's what you get taxed. But most servers don't want to fill that form out, because they get ... rather more than that, and are being undertaxed already.

Of course, you're still expected to leave a tip and suggested minimum is now 20%, plus even McDonalds is charging $15 for a 4 oz burger, so I rarely go out to eat at places that expect a tip anymore.

I'm not sure why they specifically should be tax exempt though. Cash tips often were, practically speaking, so a lot of tax evasion was happening, but it still seems odd to single them out.

Nah. Profitability for the business would be higher without tips. I take x% of gross income as profit. No tips means I can charge the customer more, which means a higher gross income, which means more profit. When tipping is involved, the money slips through without allowing the business to take its cut. Good for the server, but not good for the business.

However, as theoretically great as it sounds, you are ultimately beholden to what the customer wants. There is good reason why every restaurant that has tried a "no tips" policy has failed. Nobody shows up to dine. They go somewhere else where they can tip instead. Regular people actually enjoy tipping, as hard as it may be to believe for those who are staring at screens rather than enjoying the ambiance of a restaurant.

I am not sure if the money from such sources was ever taxed as income, but if so, then I wonder if such will be non-taxable now? Considering donation and tip buttons have some history behind them, perhaps such "jobs" could be considered "traditionally tipped jobs?"

Do they have a list of professions and industries eligible or are they going with weak “traditionally tipped “ language?

And we expect the DOGEd and defanged IRS to vigorously enforce?

About half of the large tips at high end restaurants in my town are cash. Sounds like it is about a third in New York. Especially if it is folks who work at a restaurant.

I just don't trust management of places not to take a cut if it's done digitally.

Every server who waits on me.

I make it a point to carry cash and tip the waitstaff in cash even if I pay the bill on my credit card.

1) Tips on credit cards are a "dark pattern" meant to increase the house rake of the credit card handling companies.

2) Tips on credit cards are controlled by the owner and often never make it to the waitstaff.

I can short circuit this by giving my servers tips in cash.

Yes, I know some places give cash discounts. Most do not.

My business does not involve tips (exactly) but I can tell you that I’ve seen anywhere from 20-40% of money run through my system being in cash, depending on where I am in the country.

...So people often tend to be carrying cash still.