This seems like a good idea on a knee-jerk, but when you think about it it's a loser. Or maybe not... I'm still thinking about it.
You don't see a lot of older tipped employees. Tipped jobs tend to be young people who will be moving on to other jobs as they get older. I'm okay with them not declaring their tips. My dog groomer - I tip her in cash specifically so there's no record of it. In fact I tip in cash whenever possible - they can decide whether or not they want to declare it and how much of it. Once the money leaves my hand it's no longer my business.
The problem is older people who tips make up the bulk of their income. If they don't declare it, it's not counted as income and can hose them when they try to get their social security. It also goofs up your credit because you're not showing income to, say, buy a car or rent an apartment.
But then there are older older people who are just supplementing their social security, trying to make some extra scratch. Declaring their tips does nothing except give Congress more money to piss away on foreign countries and illegal aliens. If they hid their tips....well....they should. There is no benefit to them to give a cut to Uncle Sam.
If our government was a good steward of our tax dollars I'd be more inclined to want everyone kicking in. But they're not. They use OUR treasury as their personal piggybank, so if some bartender or Uber driver wants to hose them out of "Ukraine" money and put it in their own pocket, I have no heartburn with that.
Thoughts?
You don't see a lot of older tipped employees. Tipped jobs tend to be young people who will be moving on to other jobs as they get older. I'm okay with them not declaring their tips. My dog groomer - I tip her in cash specifically so there's no record of it. In fact I tip in cash whenever possible - they can decide whether or not they want to declare it and how much of it. Once the money leaves my hand it's no longer my business.
The problem is older people who tips make up the bulk of their income. If they don't declare it, it's not counted as income and can hose them when they try to get their social security. It also goofs up your credit because you're not showing income to, say, buy a car or rent an apartment.
But then there are older older people who are just supplementing their social security, trying to make some extra scratch. Declaring their tips does nothing except give Congress more money to piss away on foreign countries and illegal aliens. If they hid their tips....well....they should. There is no benefit to them to give a cut to Uncle Sam.
If our government was a good steward of our tax dollars I'd be more inclined to want everyone kicking in. But they're not. They use OUR treasury as their personal piggybank, so if some bartender or Uber driver wants to hose them out of "Ukraine" money and put it in their own pocket, I have no heartburn with that.
Thoughts?