Vice President Kamala Harris has recently made waves with a campaign promise that might sound familiar to some political observers.
On a Saturday rally in Nevada, she pledged to “eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.” This declaration, however, comes with a hefty side of irony that’s hard to ignore.
Let’s rewind to August 7, 2022. On that day, then-Senator Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. This legislation pumped a whopping $80 billion into the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). What was this money for? Among other things, it allowed the IRS to ramp up its efforts to track and tax workers’ tips.
Fast forward to February 2023, and we see the fruits of this labor. The IRS unveiled its Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program. While described as “voluntary,” this program raised eyebrows across the political spectrum.
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Mike Palicz from Americans for Tax Reform didn’t mince words when he told Fox News, “There’s no reason they’d be issuing guidance on how to crack down on this if it was only going to be voluntary.” He added, “Ultimately, the goal is to go and grab as much revenue as possible and from whoever they can.”
Those 87,000 new IRS agents that you were promised would only target the rich…
They're coming after waitresses' tips now: "monitoring of employer compliance based on actual annual tip revenue and charge tip data from an employer's point-of-sale system."https://t.co/WAvh0t2cNN
— Mike Palicz (@Mike_Palicz) February 7, 2023
The irony thickens when we consider the Biden administration’s repeated assurances that new IRS efforts would only target the wealthy. As Palicz pointed out, “They told us they’re not going to be coming after people earning $400,000 or less. Well, here’s a new IRS rule that’s focused on bringing in tips from waitresses.”
Now, let’s fast forward to Harris’s recent campaign promise. It’s a complete 180 from her previous stance. But here’s the kicker – this isn’t even her original idea. Former President Donald Trump announced in June, during a Las Vegas rally, that if elected, his administration would “not charge taxes on tips.”
This abrupt about-face hasn’t gone unnoticed. Social media users quickly dubbed Harris #CopyCatKamala, highlighting the stark contrast between her current position and her past actions.
Kamala Harris casted the tie-breaking vote to tax your tips. #CopyCatKamala
pic.twitter.com/PclkXaMnbt— aka (@akafacehots) August 11, 2024
Harris’s shift from empowering the IRS to crack down on tip income to promising tax-free tips feels less like a genuine policy evolution and more like political opportunism.
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Actions speak louder than words – or in this case, louder than copied campaign promises.
