California Democrats Refuse ‘No Tax on Tips’ Bill

California Democrats killed a Republican proposal to end the state’s tax on tips for service workers last week, despite the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, pledging to do the same at the national level should she be elected.
The idea to end federal taxes on tips was originally proposed by former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, in June during a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he told service workers that he was going to do that “right away first thing in office because it’s been a point of contention for years and years.”
Last month, Harris announced the same proposal, capitalizing on the bipartisan support that ending tax on tips seems to have among voters. According to a poll for Newsweek conducted before Harris’ announcement, 67 percent of Americans believe that tips given to service workers should not be taxed. The number went up to 68 percent among Republicans and down to 65 percent among Democrats.
An amendment advanced by California Senate Republicans that would have exempted hospitality and service industry workers in the state from being taxed on their tips was “summarily killed” by Democrats on Thursday “without discussion or debate,” California State Republicans wrote on their website on August 29. August 31 was the final day of the legislative session for 2024.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Legislature chose not to consider a proposal that could have provided much-needed relief to California’s workers,” state Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, who introduced the proposal on the same day, said in a press release.
“The negligence involved in a refusal to even debate a policy issue of this magnitude cannot be overstated,” said state Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones.
“Legislative Democrats knew they were on the wrong side of this important issue, so they chose to sweep it under the rug rather than do the right thing for working Californians,” he added. “The push to eliminate the federal tip tax has made its way to the campaign stage for both major parties this year, yet California Democrat politicians don’t believe it be even worthy to discuss at the state level for residents here.”
Newsweek contacted the California Democratic Party and the California Senate Republicans for comment by email on Tuesday morning.
Conservative news website The Center Square reported that all Democrats in the California Senate voted to put aside the amendment with the exception of Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Mike McGuire and Senator Nancy Skinner, who abstained. All nine Republicans voted for the measure.
Newsweek contacted McGuire for comment by phone on Tuesday morning.
California State Democrats have not issued a press release explaining why they voted not to discuss the Republicans’ proposal to end tax on tips in the state.
In June, the state Legislature approved a budget that slashed spending and temporarily raised taxes on some businesses to close a budget shortfall that’s estimated to reach $46.8 billion. As a result of the deficit, the Legislature has had to pass on implementing progressive measures. For example, California Democrats agreed earlier this year to delay a minimum wage increase for health care workers, promised for this summer, to January 2025.
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