Johnson pours cold water on key Trump campaign promise

Former President Donald Trump has been campaigning on eliminating taxes on tips. And Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Florida) have introduced a bill calling for tips to be exempt from federal income tax.

But one of Trump's prominent allies, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), is expressing doubts that Trump's proposal could get passed in the near future.

Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman, on June 26, tweeted that Johnson said, "I don't know that we'd have the votes in the Senate."

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CNN's Manu Raju, in response to Sherman's tweet, observed, "Johnson on a Trump campaign promise."

The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) website offers some guidelines on tips being a form of taxable income.

In October 2022, the IRS posted, "People who work in restaurants, salons, hotels and similar industries often receive tips for the customer service they provide. Tips can be taxable income, but it's important for people working in these areas to understand important details involving tips…. Four factors determine whether a payment qualifies as a tip."

The IRS continued, "Normally, all four must apply: The customer makes the payment free from compulsion; the customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount; the payment should not be the subject of negotiations or dictated by employer policy; and generally, the customer has the right to determine who receives the payment."

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