But Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, said restaurants should just pay their kitchen workers more to compensate for servers earning tips.
“’No tax on tips’ is an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to deliver something to working class folks,” he said.
Pappageorge wants Congress to take up a separate bill introduced by Nevada Democrat Steven Horsford that would eliminate taxes on tips but also require restaurants to pay workers at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In 43 states, restaurants are currently allowed to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 per hour.
Yolanda Garcia, a barista at Resorts World in Las Vegas and a member of the Culinary Workers Union, also supports Horsford’s bill. Garcia said she makes $33,000 a year, including up to $600 per month in tips. Tips are never guaranteed, she said, but if they were tax-free, it would help make up for that uncertainty.
“It would help me get more groceries. Right now, the price of everything has gone up,” Garcia said.