Celebrities are eagerly lining up behind Kamala Harris for the election.
Not everyone is following the crowd.
And pop megastar Lady Gaga’s dad just gave Donald Trump one message that left Democrats stunned.
Donald Trump’s no tax on tips proposal picks up a surprising fan
Former President Donald Trump proposed not taxing the tips of workers in the hospital industry during a June campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He said that he got the idea after he talked to a waitress.
The no tax on tips proposal spread like wildfire, with Trump supporters leaving the message on restaurant receipts encouraging their servers to vote for the former President.
Even Vice President Kamala Harris stole the idea from Trump and came out in favor of it at a rally in Las Vegas.
The idea is popular with restaurant owners as well as workers.
Joe Germanotta – the father of pop megastar Lady Gaga – appeared on the Fox News show Your World with Neil Cavuto where he praised the proposal to not tax tips.
“He’s the owner of Joanne Trattoria, an incredible menu, what they do with garlic, don’t get me started,” host Neil Cavuto said. “Joe, great to have you. Your take, a lot of your workers, they rely on tipping, along comes Donald Trump and Kamala Harris saying we will take the tax off tips. How will that impact them, you, the restaurant?”
Joanne Trattoria is an Italian restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
“I think it is a great thing for them and good for the restaurant,” Germanotta replied. “75% of their income comes from tips. Effectively, Donald Trump is giving them a raise. It gives them more disposable income.”
Where Trump and Harris differ on taxing tips
Germanotta explained that not taxing tips would be a way to raise worker pay without passing on price increases to customers.
“If wages get increased all right, the hourly wage, that shows up in menu prices but this pays the employee for what they do as well,” Germanotta stated. “It will allow them to not work as many jobs. Most of my employees have two positions, server, and bus boy positions. I think it’s a great thing all around. I think the president was brilliant in throwing this on the table.”
“I think it is a win/win for everyone,” Germanotta added.
Kamala’s plan to have no tax on tips has one major difference from Trump’s.
She tied not taxing tips to a minimum wage increase.
“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,” Kamala said.
She’s using a popular policy – not taxing tips – to tie to a left-wing priority to make it easier for Congress to pass.
It’s a bargaining chip for her real priority of increasing the minimum wage, a long-held Democrat priority.
Packaging it with another policy makes it less likely that it would pass.
Donald Trump is working to deliver true tax relief for workers by pushing for its inclusion in the renewal of his tax cut package next year.
