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Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

theguardian.com

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Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#91
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The easiest seems like who is paying the "tip". If it's your employer, it's taxable compensation. If it's a customer, than it could be a tip. Then there would probably be a bunch of sub-bullet points defining whether a tip is taxable depending on whether you have a direct relationship with the customer tipping you, whether the "tip" is mandatory, or at the discretion of the customer, are you in X roles (e.g. barista)…

Okay, I hire a contractor to remodel the bathroom and I pay $1k and $10k in tips. I am the client.

And now you've understood why every handyman job is on paper $1 under the limit at which they need a trades license.

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#92
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't tip standing up. If you're ordering at a counter, that's not a tipped job. What are you even tipping for anyway? You haven't gotten your food yet, they're not bringing anything to you, it makes no sense. If the conceit of tips is that they incentivize good service, then tipping before you receive the service is nonsensical.

I guess I'm tipping so that I don't get "additions" to my order.

[deleted]

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#93
post #50
post #10

Increasing the tipped minimum wage means that restaurants will add that cost to the menu. Because tips are based a percentage of your order, this means that customers actually pay more money in tips, even though these laws are marketed as reducing the need for tips.

There should be some sort of cap on tips. My friends and I went our for dinner last weekend and we ended up spending around $600 for dinner, there were 5 of us. They automatically added 20% , $120 as a tip. We spent about 2 hours at that restaurant. I wouldn't say service was spectacular. The server infact made us over order, everyone had to take boxes back, they messed up 2 of our courses, but we had no recourse. De…

> There should be some sort of cap on tips.

tax brackets are rediscovered

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#94
The tipping culture in the US has got totally out of control over last 3-4 years.

I'm more than fine tipping low waged people who provide an actual service like wait staff and barbers, but the ubiquitous payment terminals taking over for credit card payment, where the cashier/counter staff expect a 10/15/20% or more tip (some now have 20% as the minimum, unless you go "custom") for doing nothing, piss me off!

What next, will tips for supermarket cashiers be next? CVS checkout too?

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you must tip, only ever use cash. Otherwise you're also subsidizing Square, Toast, Visa, Stripe, etc. Did they give you exceptional service today? Use cash.

If it means I don’t have to carry around a wad of bills in a gold money clip and hand them out like I’m John Gotti, then yes, Visa did give me exceptional service.

That's Visa's normal service. Considering that exceptional is silly.

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#96

I assume business would just lower the amount they pay, since tips would be worth more.

Businesses already pay the exact minimum wage of $2.13/hour. The employees either make an additional $5.12/hour in tips or the employer must make up the difference at every pay period. Employees routinely underreport their tip earnings beyond the $5.12/hour to not pay taxes and fly under the DoL radar. Edit: I should add that lots of states and some cities have their own minimum wage laws but they are all structured…

> Edit: I should add that lots of states and some cities have their own minimum wage laws but they are all structured the same. There is a minimum wage like $10/hour but if an employee is tipped the employer can claim a “tip credit” of like $6 and pay the employee only $4

This is not true in California, at least. Restaurant workers are paid at least minimum wage (which is $16 or higher depending on locality) and then tips on top. "Tip credit" is not allowed

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#97
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tip at my local coffee (1-2/wk) because they are always nice, cool when I forget my wallet, get my "usual" w/o prompting, stickers for my kid, give me pro-tips on pastry baking, etc But if I went daily it'd be like $8/coffee. Espresso machine at home was the right answer. Pays for itself after only 200 coffees.

I tip at places like coffee shops and delis because the person taking my order is often also preparing it. If they’re just handing me a bag from the kitchen I don’t tip. Maybe this is silly.

>> because the person taking my order is often also preparing it

This was intentionally designed like this to encourage customers to tip (by making you feel like you have a waiter)

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#98
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tip at my local coffee (1-2/wk) because they are always nice, cool when I forget my wallet, get my "usual" w/o prompting, stickers for my kid, give me pro-tips on pastry baking, etc But if I went daily it'd be like $8/coffee. Espresso machine at home was the right answer. Pays for itself after only 200 coffees.

I tip at places like coffee shops and delis because the person taking my order is often also preparing it. If they’re just handing me a bag from the kitchen I don’t tip. Maybe this is silly.

It is because they are literally just doing what they are paid for. I would love if ever time i hit my sprint goals i got tipped by my employer or better yet what is actually happening is they should tip me at the start of the sprint in order to be in my good favor so i don’t bomb the sprint.

This is the world we live in. Where everyone now feels like they have to give someone extra money just because they showed up to work. Better yet is shitty waiters who have a built in 20% tip. The entire thing pisses me off.

I use to enjoy going to restaurants and would tip easily over 20% because i would get awesome service. Now you are paying that in hopes they don’t spit in your food next time you show up.

I stopped going out to eat because the entire industry is full of assholes now who think they deserve your money. I still follow a lot of people who work in the industry on social media from 5 years ago when i would frequent a lot of nice restaurants. The kind of shit they post is just completely toxic “why are you even coming out to eat if you don’t tip over 20% type crap”.

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not taxing tips will increase the reliance on them rather than remove it.

Absolutely. The article in question is about how it runs counter to increasing said wages instead, and the comment I'm replying to I think is saying if we raise wages tips will raise. Which is true, short term.

I mean, wages have been increasing. Legislated wages are a vanishingly small portion of earned wages, except in the states with the highest minimum wages relative to market rates (and then usually only in the least-developed areas in those states, which is also where those legislated wages are likely to cause unemployment).

Re: Is 'No tax on tips' a distraction from the fight to end sub-minimum wages?

#100

tips should be banned not only is it a shitty source of income, it also exposes you to sexism, racism and makes you tolerate shit things, because your income could be at risk standing up for yourself.

Have you ever worked a job where you get tipped? I have. I was both a bartender and a server and my income was far better than both 1) the alternatives for which I was qualified, and 2) what my income would have been on flat, higher wage. If you haven't worked a job like that, it might be worth talking to people who do or have.

I have; I worked in an ice cream stand at a dairy farm. And you're correct, because of the tips we made much more than we would have even if we had had a higher wage.

But to the point of the person you replied to, on the busy days, there would be two of us working. We were free to split labor however we liked. We made far more tips when it was my attractive, female, coworker taking orders and interacting with the customers, and me scooping, than the other way around. People absolutely do tip differently based on their biases regarding the worker they are interacting with.

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