MILWAUKEE — In recent weeks, former President Donald Trump appeared to score a political win among his followers with a new policy proposal: no tax on tips.
Trump, 78, explained how the policy idea came about during a key speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
It started with a conversation Trump had with a restaurant worker in Nevada, he explained.
“It’s actually turned out to be very popular. It’s very popular here because we have this building and a bunch of hotels. It’s called No Tip Tax,” Trump began, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
“I got that recently when I had dinner in Nevada,” he continued, as the crowd chanted, “There’s no tax on tips.”
Trump described the waiter as “a very nice guy” who came over and made small talk about how things were going, after which the waiter explained that “the government keeps coming at me about tips, tips, tips.”
The 45th president assumed tips were paid in cash and asked her how it worked, but the waiter told him most tips were “just a little bit of cash,” according to his account.
“They come and take a lot of our money. It’s really ridiculous,” she lamented.
“I said, ‘Let me ask you a question: Would you be happy if there was no tax on tips?’ And she said, ‘That’s a great idea,'” Trump recalled.
“I got the information from a very clever waitress.”
Trump then joked that she was better informed than the consultants.
In his speech, Trump touted the tax cuts he enacted during his first administration and promised to pursue further tax cuts if he returns to the White House, while also pledging to reduce the debt.
Trump declined to provide specifics on how he would accomplish such a feat.
