Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul slammed taxes on tips in an op-ed for the Las Vegas Sun Tuesday. Congressman Paul’s (R-TX) diatribe against taxes on tips is likely to win the hearts and minds of younger voters, many of whom may be waiters or waitresses at restaurants or bars across the nation.
Mr. Paul argued that service-industry workers are “often overlooked by both sides during the never-ending debate on taxes.” The Texas congressman pointed out that service-industry workers are “always overtaxed” as well as overworked and underpaid.
“It’s an outrage that waiters, waitresses and other service-sector employees have to pay taxes on the tips they earn,” Mr. Paul posited.
“To add insult to injury, the IRS makes an estimate of how much service-sector workers will make in tips and taxes them on it even if the taxpayer did not actually earn as much as the IRS estimate,” Mr. Paul added.
Mr. Paul has a simple solution to this problem: “I will end this injustice on service-industry workers all across our nation by abolishing all taxes on tips once and for all.”
The former Air Force surgeon, who has turned his attention to the upcoming caucus states of Maine, Nevada, Colorado and Minnesota, is a vocal opponent of raising taxes.
When asked what the highest federal income tax rate should be at a recent Republican presidential debate, the Texas congressman suggested that a zero percent tax rate should be the ultimate goal.
“We should have the lowest tax that we’ve ever had, and up until 1913, it was 0 percent. What’s so bad about that?” Mr. Paul professed.
With the Nevada Caucuses scheduled for this Saturday, Mr. Paul’s op-ed is likely to be a popular piece in a state that has a large concentration of service-industry workers.
