Among the many complaints I've had about the nascent Kamala Harris presidential campaign have been her refusal to do press interviews and the prepared, scripted statements she delivers with little to no mention of specific policy proposals. However, during a campaign rally in Las Vegas yesterday, Harris broke form and actually did name a policy change that she would put in place if elected. To my great surprise, I found myself agreeing with her because it's a pretty good idea. She promised to "eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers." The crowd roared its approval. But wait... that sounds kind of familiar. Where have we heard that before? Oh, that's right. Donald Trump has been saying the same thing all along and he was quick to point out that Harris is stealing his ideas.
From the NY Post:
Vice President Kamala Harris rolled out a promise to stomp out taxes on tips during a campaign stop in Las Vegas Saturday — prompting former President Donald Trump to rip her for “copying” one if his signature proposals.Though she spent a significant portion of her talk ripping Trump, the Democratic presidential nominee regurgitated one of his signature ideas at the top of her stump speech at the battleground state.“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,” Harris told the crowd to a roar of applause.
Of course, neither Trump nor Harris could end taxes on tips with a simple wave of their hand or the stroke of a pen on an executive order. Any such change to the government's revenue collection system would have to originate in the House and be passed by Congress before the President could approve it. Also, while it's a popular idea and should certainly be considered, it's difficult to estimate how much of a real-world impact it would actually have. Calculating and collecting taxes on tips is notoriously difficult because, unlike bills that are processed at the register and produce receipts, tips have traditionally been offered in a hand-to-hand fashion, with little or no documentation. It would still be a populist move no matter who does it, however.
Now, however, the "no tax on tips" idea has been turned into a partisan political football. Back when it was just Trump talking about it, a number of media outlets were disparaging the idea. The supposedly nonpartisan Tax Foundation said that if you find tipping frustrating now, removing taxes on tips could make it worse. Senator Ted Cruz already introduced the "No Tax on Tips Act," but the left-wing Center for American Progress immediately panned it, saying it was just more "empty promises for workers and giveaways for the wealthy." Of course, now that Kamala Harris is saying it, everyone is in love with the idea. These people truly have no shame.
To her credit, Kamala at least seemed to acknowledge that Trump proposed the plan first. But she is insisting (without evidence) that Trump has no intention of following through with the idea. Instead, she repeated the tired old liberal mantras about how Donald Trump would "give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, cut Social Security and Medicare, and surrender our fight against the climate crisis." It's true that Donald Trump plans to cut taxes for everyone (not just the wealthy) and he will certainly stop flushing our money down the "green new steal" toilet. But there is no way that Trump will lay a hand on Social Security and Medicare, even if both are in need of significant reform. That's a sure path to losing the senior vote overnight and the man isn't stupid.
We probably shouldn't fault Kamala Harris for stealing a couple of Trump's ideas here and there, however. After all, what else is she going to run on? Her record? She could try promising to continue her incredible record of success in keeping the border closed or holding down crime rates, but there aren't any Americans with a measurable pulse who would believe it. She could promise to be "the unity president" just as Joe Biden did, but one look at the riots in the streets and on the college campuses will reveal what an abject lie that would be. So no taxes on tips is apparently the way to go. But if she starts stealing too many GOP ideas, she'll need to be careful lest a lot of independent voters begin wondering why they shouldn't just vote for the real deal rather than "Republican light."
