Nevada senator re-introduces ‘No Tax on Tips’ bill

Sen. Jacky Rosen reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would implement “no taxes on tips,” a major campaign promise of President-elect Donald Trump.

The Nevada Democratic senator introduced the No Tax on Tips Act on Thursday with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

“We have the highest percentage of tipped workers than any other state,” she said. “It’s important that working people get more of the money they earn in their pockets.”

Rosen said she worked as a waitress through college, putting her cash in envelopes for all the bills she had to pay. At one point she earned $1 an hour without tips.

Rosen and Cruz’ bill include provisions to prevent people from taking advantage. Someone who makes over $150,000 would not be impacted by the bill, she said.

The Nevada senator’s bill does not eliminate subminimum wage, but she does support eliminating the subminimum wage.

Nevada is one of the seven states without a subminimum wage for tipped workers, who earn at least $12 per hour. In states with a subminimum wage, tipped workers make as little as $2.13 an hour under federal rules.

During the election cycle, Trump campaigned on the promise to eliminate taxes on tips — a policy he first introduced during a rally in Las Vegas. Nevada’s Democratic congressional members soon followed in announcing their support.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., introduced a bill in the last Congress that would eliminate taxes on tips as well as eliminate subminimum wages. He plans to reintroduce his bill in the new session, but he welcomed the introduction of the No Tax on Tips Act.

“While my bill is stronger, the No Tax on Tips Act is a second opportunity for us to eliminate the income tax requirement for most tipped workers and ensure that bad actors can’t use it in inappropriate ways,” he said in a statement.

Rosen hopes her bill will see success, since both the president-elect and congressional Republicans support the policy.

“I’m going to work with anyone to take care of Nevada families,” she said.

So far the bill has received support from Nevada’s largest union. Culinary Local 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said eliminating taxes on tips coupled with ending the $2.13 federal sub-minimum wage would uplift millions of hospitality workers.

“This bill is a critical step to ensure one job is enough for workers to support their families,” Pappageorge said in a statement.

He called on House Republicans to work with Democrats to raise the sub-minimum wage and address corporations driving up prices on essential goods.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.