During a rally in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, Vice President Kamala Harris said that she would back ending taxes on tips if elected president, mirroring a policy proposal put forward by former President Donald Trump at the beginning of June.
“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,” Harris said during an Aug. 10 rally in Las Vegas.
The Culinary Workers Union, which oversees a crucial voting bloc in the battleground state of Nevada, endorsed the plan.
“Vice-President Kamala Harris acknowledged the hard working men and women of the hospitality industry and committed tonight in Las Vegas to raise the minimum wage across the country and fight to end taxes on tips once elected as the next President of the United States of America,” the union said in an Aug. 10 statement.
The Culinary Union urged other elected leaders to support efforts by Harris toward these goals.
On June 9, Trump announced that if reelected, he would end taxes on tips for service workers.
“For those hotel workers and people who get tips, you’re going to be very happy because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips, people making tips,” Trump said in Las Vegas.
The former president said he would do this “right away, first thing in office.”
Trump afterward expanded on his plan in a post on Truth Social, saying he hoped that union and blue-collar workers would support him later this year.
Securing an end to taxes on tips would be a tall order for either candidate. Doing so would require the passage of a tax legislation including provisions to alter how the IRS classifies tips.
During Trump’s first term in office, the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed a significant revamping of the tax code that cut both corporate and individual rates.
Under that bill, corporate rate cuts were made permanent, while cuts to the individual tax rate are temporary and will expire next year.
Trump has said that passing a comprehensive new tax bill would be a key focus for him during the first year of his second term in office.
Democrats have also expressed interest in passing new tax legislation. Many of their proposals focus on weighting the tax code more heavily against the very wealthy.
Epoch Times reporter Joseph Lord contributed to this report.