Trump Wants Votes: Asks Everyone To Write on Their Receipts, “Vote for Trump for No Tax on Tips”

Ahead of the US election on November 5, Donald Trump used Friday's celebration of his 78th birthday to pledge even bigger tax cuts if elected. At a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, attended by thousands of Republicans, the presidential candidate promised to significantly reduce the corporate tax rate and provide middle-class families financial relief.

Besides this, he also proposed a different strategy that included the phrase 'not tax on tips.' In a clip circulating on X, Trump clearly stated, "So, we need to spread the word so that every time you leave a tip for the next five months you put it on the receipt 'Vote for Trump because there's no tax on tips."

The proposal was well-received by users, who enthusiastically supported Trump. One user wrote on X, "I was actually out having dinner when I saw this. I did exactly that." Another added, "I’ve been doing it since the weekend and will do it every receipt til November!"

But some accused Trump of being dishonest and thought it was all just a political ploy. One user shared, "His cheap ass talking about gratuity, but he a whole ass billionaire and want to give his buddies a 1.5% tax cut this time’ around if he wins the White House but, we’re not gonna let that happen. Fk hm!"

Another user pointed out, "You can add this to the list of broken promises by convicted felon Trump. Where’s that wall that Mexico was going to pay for?" One more user wrote, "Has he costed this claim? How much tax will this forego in a country with massive deficits? Or has he offered to raise an alternate tax to cover it? BTW will he allow employers to lower staff wages further because they no longer apy tax on their tips?"

Workers in service industries that rely on tips—including waiters, bartenders, drivers, and even certain hotel staff—would benefit financially from a system that exempts gratuities from income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, giving them a leg up in comparison to low-wage workers in industries like fast food.

Additionally, it might imply that customers, who are already feeling the effects of tipping fatigue due to the widespread adoption of the practice, would be requested to tip in even more contexts to facilitate the transfer of untaxed cash to workers.

The federal government takes a cut of any gratuities paid to service workers that exceed $20 per month. Credit card and other electronic tip payments are reported to employers automatically, and workers are also required to record the total amount of their cash tips on their individual income tax forms.  

As reported by Forbes, almost 45% is the estimated amount of money that the IRS misses out on each year as a result of erroneous tip reporting. When it comes to ordinary pay, the IRS claims to obtain 99% of its due, but when it comes to tips, it only gets 55%.