Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was widely mocked after she shared a photo of a recent receipt with a message that reads "Vote Trump! No tax on tips!!"
The phrase refers to former President Donald Trump's recent appeal to his supporters to spread the word about his proposal to eliminate taxes on tips by writing about it on restaurant receipts.
Trump made these remarks at an event in West Palm Beach celebrating his 78th birthday with members of Club 47. He told the crowd that his plan for further tax cuts includes eliminating taxes on tips for "restaurant workers, hospitality workers, and anyone else who receives tips."
Trump told the crowd that restaurant workers, hotel workers, and caddies would benefit the most from his proposal. He said "it's going to be a great thing" because "You know they earned it." He added that in the event he wins November's election, his administration will end the practice "immediately, effective immediately when we get in."
With this in mind, Greene took to X, formerly Twitter, and wrote the following message:
"I absolutely LOVE President Trump’s plan for NO TAX ON TIPS!! Write it on every receipt you sign!"
Her post included a photo of her receipt showing she—who has regularly accused the Democratic Party of not understanding what working class people want—spent a grand total of $721.02 on dinner.
You can see her post and the photo below.
@mtgreenee/X
But people weren't interested in Greene's "love" for Trump's proposal—they instead focused on the price of a meal that doesn't at all help her narrative as a "woman of the people."
Many agreed on one thing: Greene is completely out of touch with average Americans, most of whom live paycheck to paycheck.
Trump is likely to revisit this campaign pledge as he seeks to win over working-class voters in swing states with significant service industries, including Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia, during his upcoming rematch with President Joe Biden.
However, it remains uncertain whether this election-year pandering will evolve beyond a campaign talking point. Currently, the IRS mandates that all cash and non-cash tips are subject to federal income taxes, meaning Congress would need to pass a law to exempt tips from taxation.
With major parts of the Trump tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025, this proposal could become a significant topic for policymakers if Trump is re-elected.
Implementing this policy would have significant implications for the national debt. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a research group advocating for fiscal responsibility, estimated that exempting tips from income and payroll taxes could reduce federal revenue by as much as $250 billion over 10 years.
