California Democrats voted against Vice President Kamala Harris’ “no tax on tips” proposal”— an idea she stole from former President Donald Trump’s playbook.
Democrats refused to consider the proposal without discussing or debating the issue. The bill would have alleviated some of the tax burden workers who rely on tips face. It would have exempted those tips from state income taxes and allowed hospitality and service industry employees, such as bartenders and waiters, to take home more of their paychecks.
Earlier this month, I reported that Harris, who has refused to release a policy page on her campaign website, can only steal other candidates' policies and make them her own.
In August, Harris announced she supports eliminating federal taxes on tips for service workers at businesses such as bars, restaurants, and hotels. However, in June, Trump discussed his thoughts on barring all income taxes and replacing them with import tariffs.
Advocates for the proposal suggest it would mitigate the stress tax puts on American taxpayers and increase spending, which would help boost the economy.
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) slammed Democrats for even refusing to debate the policy issue.
“Legislative Democrats knew they were on the wrong side of this important issue, so they chose to sweep it under the rug rather than do the right thing for working Californians,” he said. “The push to eliminate the federal tip tax has made its way to the campaign stage for both major parties this year, yet California Democrat politicians don’t believe it is even worthy of discussing at the state level for residents here.”
With California having one of the highest cost-of-living rates in the nation, Republican Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh criticized Democrats for shutting the proposal down, as industry employees struggle to make ends meet due to the state’s tax system.