President Trump on Saturday repeated a promise he's made to get rid of taxes on tips. Speaking at a rally at a Las Vegas casino, he told the crowd, "In the coming weeks, I'll be working with Congress to get a bill on my desk that cuts taxes for workers, families, small businesses, and very importantly, keeps my promise. We're gonna get it for you—no tax on tips." He added, per NPR, "If you're a restaurant worker, a server, a valet, a bell hop, a bartender, one of my caddies, your tips will be 100% yours." As CNN reports, eliminating the federal income tax on tips would cost the US $106 billion over the next decade, and Trump has offered few details about which taxes he would eliminate and how he would do it.
While Trump can't simply change the tax code himself, parts of the 2017 tax law he signed will soon expire, meaning Congress can soon make changes. "No tax on tips," a slogan that Trump started using after first floating it at a campaign rally in Vegas in June, has bipartisan support—Kamala Harris floated a similar idea, and Nevada's two Democrat senators have teamed up with Republicans to introduce legislation exempting tips from federal income tax—but economists say a better move would be to phase out the federal minimum wage for tipped workers entirely—it's currently just $2.13 per hour—and increase the federal minimum wage, a move that would help all low-income workers, even those who don't get tips. (More President Trump stories.)