As the Biden-Harris administration announced plans to crack down on waiter tips, Vice President Kamala Harris has come under fire from critics and conservatives for “copying” former President Trump’s campaign promise to not tax service industry workers’ tips.
“Now’s a good time to remind everyone that the #CopyCatKamala Administration introduced a new enforcement program last year to collect more taxes on tips. She could stop it right now… but she won’t because she’s a dishonest con artist!” James Blair, the Trump campaign’s political director, posted to X.
Blair was responding to Ms Harris’ revelation at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday that she supports ending taxes on tips for service industry workers.
“I promise all of you here that if I were president, I would continue to fight for working families, including raising the minimum wage and eliminating tip taxes for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said at the rally.
Biden’s IRS plans to crack down on waiter tips
Vice President Kamala Harris said his swearing habits have worsened since taking office. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
Trump already vowed this summer to eliminate the hospitality industry tip tax if he was re-elected, and he included the pledge in his 2024 Republican campaign platform.
“I’ll be the first to say this, but hotel workers and tipped people are going to be very happy because when I take office, I’m not going to tax tips or tipped people. This has been a contentious issue for years, but you guys provide great service and you take care of people and I think this is really going to be a well-deserved return,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas in June.
Trump campaign slams union for endorsing Harris but refusing to commit to tips: ‘remaining their puppet’
Harris joined Trump in calling for an end to the tip tax after the Biden administration last year introduced a voluntary tip reporting system for industry workers that aims to streamline tip tax compliance.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the Truman Balcony at the White House on July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
“The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-13, which contains proposed revenue procedures that would establish the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) Program, a voluntary tip reporting program between the IRS and various service industry employers.” The IRS said in a press release last year: Of planning.
The plan, which came after the IRS hired 87,000 new employees under the Biden administration, was criticized at the time by tax experts as a crackdown on “waitress tips,” Fox News Digital reported last year.
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“Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee’s tax subcommittee, told Fox News Digital at the time. “Right now the IRS is going after middle-income families and working moms and dads who are just trying to make ends meet and put food on the table.”
“My colleagues and I have been warning for months that the Biden administration would begin targeting hardworking Americans in an effort to get more of taxpayer money. Now, some of those fears are starting to become a reality,” he added.
After Governor Harris said Saturday that she also wants to repeal the tip tax, President Trump accused her of stealing his plan and slammed her as a “copycat.”
Trump promises to end tip taxes on hospitality workers at Las Vegas rally
“Kamala Harris, whose ‘honeymoon’ period is over and she is beginning to lose ground in the polls, has simply copied my no-tip policy,” Trump wrote.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)
“The difference is, she won’t do it. She just wants it for political purposes! This is Trump’s idea. She has no ideas, she can only steal them from me,” he added.
Republicans slam Biden administration over plan to crack down on waiter tips
Other critics on social media accused Harris of “copying” Trump as the vice president faces off against the 45th president after Biden dropped out of the race last month amid growing concerns over his mental health and his advanced age at 81. Critics frequently used the hashtag “#CopyCatKamala” in accusing Harris of “copying” Trump, which trended on X over the weekend.
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The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital seeking comment on the criticism and the SITCA program.
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