Nevada’s Democratic Sens. Rosen, Cortez Masto join Ted Cruz’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ bill

Nevada’s two Democratic senators announced their support Friday for a bill that would end federal income taxes on tips, a proposal floated by former president Donald Trump last month in Las Vegas.

Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto joined the “No Tax on Tips Act.” It was introduced in the Senate this week by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Steve Daines of Montana.

“Nevada has a higher percentage of tipped workers than any other state, and getting rid of the federal income tax on tips would deliver immediate financial relief for service and hospitality staff across our state who are working harder than ever while getting squeezed by rising costs,” Sen. Rosen said in a statement.

The bill would allow a deduction in an amount equal to cash tips to be made when filing federal income taxes. Because many employees working for tips likely don’t itemize, it also includes language that the deduction applies for non-itemizers.

Nevada has the nation’s highest concentration of tipped workers in the country, with about 25.8 food industry servers per 1,000 jobs, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“This legislation is just one part of comprehensive efforts I support to cut taxes for tipped workers and for all hardworking middle-class Nevadans,” Cortez Masto said.

Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas, also praised the bill.

“Culinary Union applauds Senator Rosen, a former Culinary Union member and tipped worker, and Senator Cortez Masto for joining bipartisan legislation to provide relief to hospitality workers in Nevada,” he said in a statement.

After Trump told a Las Vegas crowd that ending federal taxes on tipped wages would be one of his first acts in office, Pappageorge rejected the idea as a campaign stunt.

“Relief is definitely needed for tip earners, but Nevada workers are smart enough to know the difference between real solutions and wild campaign promises from a convicted felon,” he said at the time.

Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.