Before Kamala Harris Copied Trump’s Pledge To Scrap The Tip Tax, Biden-Harris Admin Moved To Enforce Tip Taxation

 The Biden administration announced a new program to “improve tip reporting compliance” to the IRS more than a year before Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign promised to eliminate tip taxes.

The IRS and Treasury departments introduced a new tip reporting program last year called the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program. The stated goal of the program is to “improve tip reporting compliance.”

“The proposed SITCA program is designed to take advantage of advancements in point-of-sale, time and attendance systems, and electronic payment settlement methods to improve tip reporting compliance,” the IRS stated in a February 2023 announcement. “The proposed program would also decrease taxpayer and IRS administrative burdens and provide more transparency and certainty to taxpayers.”

The program is currently optional for employers to enroll, but the program’s intent is to become the “sole tip reporting compliance program for employers in various service industries” and eliminate several other tip reporting processes, according to the IRS.

Harris announced on Saturday that, should she win the White House in 2024, she would eliminate taxes on tips. She made the pledge during a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“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 promised the crowd.

Harris’ proposal came roughly two months after former president Donald Trump promised the same reform at a rally in the same city, Las Vegas, which has sizable service and hospitality industries to support its gambling and entertainment businesses.

Trump responded to Harris’ announcement in a post on Truth Social, calling the Harris pledge a an idea stolen from the Trump campaign.

“Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING, and is starting to get hammered in the Polls, just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy. The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes!” Trump posted. “This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me. Remember, Kamala has proposed the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY – It won’t happen. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Nevada, as a battleground state, could be crucial to determining the 2024 election. Trump currently has an edge over Harris in the state, leading the vice president by nearly 4 points in the Real Clear Politics polling average