The Biden administration is copying Vice President Kamala Harris’ pledge to end taxes on tips for service workers, which Harris has been accused of stealing from her opponent President Donald Trump.
During a White House press briefing on Monday afternoon, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden “supports eliminating taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.” Jean-Pierre was asked about the issue after Harris made a campaign promise to eliminate taxing service workers’ tips during a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday. Trump made the same promise in the same city two months before Harris did.
“This is something the president supports. He supports eliminating taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers while also raising the minimum wage and preventing the wealthy from gaining[sic] the system,” Jean-Pierre said.
Asked if Harris stole the proposal from Trump as the Republican nominee argued, the White House press secretary replied, “I’m not going to respond to a presidential candidate, and I think their campaigns speak to that directly. What I can say is this president, this vice president, have always had the backs of working people, always. And you see that in the policies that they have put forward.”
Harris told her supporters in Las Vegas on Saturday, “It is my promise to everyone here, when I am president we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.”
During his rally in Las Vegas on June 9, Trump said, “For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy because when I get to office we are going to not charge taxes on tips.”
The promise from Harris and the White House is an apparent shift in policy after the Biden administration sought to “improve tip reporting compliance” to the IRS in February of 2023. The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program is optional for employers to enroll, but the IRS eventually wants it to become the “sole tip reporting compliance program for employers in various service industries” and eliminate several other tip reporting processes.
Trump blasted Harris on Truth Social, arguing that she won’t follow through on her campaign promise.
“Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING, and is starting to get hammered in the Polls, just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy,” he wrote. “The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes! This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me. Remember, Kamala has proposed the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY – It won’t happen. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
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