Trump pulls out an ace in Las Vegas to win over Nevada

What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas. In the gambling capital, Donald Trump has pulled out an ace from his sleeve. The former U.S. president promised that if he wins the elections on November 5, the first thing he would do upon taking office is exempt tips from taxes. This proposal, later echoed by Kamala Harris, has already made its way to the Capitol in Washington.

The Republican candidate has been promoting the idea nationwide, particularly in Las Vegas, where hospitality workers play a significant role and more than two-third of Nevada’s population live in the metropolitan area. With a population of 3.2 million, Nevada is the least populated of the seven swing states in the presidential elections. However, its six Electoral College votes could sway the outcome in different scenarios.

“For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy because when I get to office we are going to not charge taxes on tips,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas in June. “We’re going to do that right away, first thing in office,” he added in a somewhat misleading statement, since it is not a decision that the president can make, but rather one that is up to Congress.

Tipping — which traces its roots back to 16th-century England — has evolved in the United States from a sign of appreciation for quality service to a near obligation for customers, serving as a substitute or supplement for employees’ salaries. In the early 20th century, waiters in some upscale U.S. restaurants were required to pay the owner for the privilege of working there and being able to collect tips. Retaliation against those who failed to pay tips took various forms; in Chicago, police dismantled a network in 1918 that was poisoning non-tipping customers. While such extremes are no longer common, tips still constitute a significant portion of hospitality workers’ income — and this trend is expanding into other sectors.

Despite its contradictions, Trump’s proposal — at the expense of the public purse — struck a chord. Alarm bells began ringing for Democrats, and at her first rally in Las Vegas after officially becoming the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris raised the stakes. “We will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” she stated. In response, Trump called her a “COPYCAT” on his social media network, Truth Social.

“We’re so thrilled that tipped workers are being talked about by presidential candidates,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, a national network representing 300,000 service workers and 1,000 restaurant owners, during a recent event in Washington.

“This is important for workers here in Nevada, and it’s crucial for many workers across the country,” said Ted Pappageorge, treasurer of the Culinary Union, the largest hospitality union in Las Vegas. Both acknowledge that tipping is part of a broader problem.

“In the United States, we have what is called a subminimum wage, which is less than the minimum wage. You can pay someone who earns tips only $2.13 an hour,” Pappageorge explained. “It’s outrageous, but Trump doesn’t say anything about it because he’s an employer: he likes to pay $2.13 an hour. Instead, Kamala Harris has said: ‘You know what, we’re going to address tip taxes. We want it to be fair. But we’re also going to raise the minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers.’ It’s completely different. So Trump is wrong on this issue and Kamala Harris has credibility.”

“The subminimum wage for tipped workers is a direct legacy of slavery,” Jayaraman argued. “It was created after emancipation to allow restaurants to hire newly freed slaves, particularly Black women, not pay them a wage and tell them they were going to live off this new thing that had come from Europe called tips. It was the first time in history that tips were used as a substitute for wages, rather than as a gratuity, as they had always been intended to be,” she continues. This subminimum wage system persists in 43 of the 50 states and affects mostly African Americans, immigrants and young people, especially women, who are the overwhelming majority in the sector.

Nevada, along with Washington, D.C., is one of the seven states that does not have a subminimum wage. This makes the tip tax exemption a particularly resonant proposal, which both Trump and his vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, reiterated last week during separate rallies in Las Vegas. While the idea originated with Trump, Democrats have also embraced it. “Eliminating the federal tax on tips aligns with our history of advocating for working families,” said Carlos Perez, spokesman for the Nevada Democratic Party. The Republican Party of Nevada did not respond to requests for comment.

From a technical standpoint, the tip tax exemption has faced significant criticism. Lower-income workers are already effectively exempt from taxes through the standard deduction. For those earning slightly above this threshold (the median salary of a waiter in the United States is $36,530 a year), it creates a disparity between jobs: a supermarket cashier could end up paying more in taxes than a waiter, even if the cashier earns less.

What’s more, the exemption could lead to unintended consequences. If not carefully structured, it may incentivize high-income professionals (such as lawyers and dentists) to receive part of their fee as a supposedly voluntary tip.

From Las Vegas, the idea has traveled to the Capitol in Washington, where several bills have been introduced to exempt tips from taxes. One such bill comes from Steve Horsford, a Democratic congressman from Nevada who is seeking re-election on November 5. His proposal includes eliminating the subminimum wage and exempting tips from taxes. “These workers shouldn’t be taxed twice, once through payroll and then again on their tips. They deserve the full benefit of their hard-earned income. The Tips Act isn’t just about wages or taxes, it’s about economic justice,” he said in Washington after presenting his proposal.

On the topic of tips, Horsford’s sentiments echoed those of Republican Thomas Massie, who introduced his own initiative. “Taxing tips is regressive and goes against American tradition. But now digital payments allow the government to tax every transaction, even those that historically have not been taxed. With inflation raging, it only makes sense to eliminate the tax on tips and provide relief to working folks,” said Massie.

Two weeks ago, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto visited the Culinary Union headquarters to rally activists preparing to canvass for votes in support of Kamala Harris. “Your vote is your voice. Now is the time to use your voice to talk to friends and neighbors about the importance of this election. Your voices are powerful. That’s why what you’re doing today is going to make a difference,” she told them.

Dozens of union members then spread out across various neighborhoods in the city. Armed with an app that identifies the homes of registered voters — information that is public — they focused on mobilizing their own supporters rather than trying to sway opponents. “We recommend early voting to prevent people from getting lazy and not voting later on,” explained Celia Pérez, a 59-year-old waitress at the MGM Grand casino hotel. Originally from Puerto Vallarta, she has lived in the United States for 40 years, including 18 years in Las Vegas. “The Democratic Party cares more about us, about ensuring we have better salaries and health insurance, about not having to work two jobs, having one that is enough. We need them to win so they can support the middle class,” she said.

That day, Celia Pérez and Stehany Barrientos went door-to-door campaigning in the Twin Lakes area. The neighbors responded in Spanish, received the bilingual flyers, assured the duo that they already had their voting plans, and then promptly closed the door. Barrientos, 33, is a Peruvian who has been in the United States for seven years and currently works at the Wynn hotel. “This is a country of workers. Most of us are middle class. It is important that people get informed and become aware,” she explained as she walked the streets under the stifling Las Vegas heat. “Every vote counts. We are trying to make people aware. Unity is strength. I cannot vote, but my voice is being heard by people who can, so it is important that they vote,” she added.

Trump appealed to voters’ pocketbooks with his proposal to exempt tips from taxes. He then promised to eliminate taxes on overtime pay and to make interest on car loans deductible. “You know what’s funny? The next thing he’s going to say is that there are no taxes for anybody. No taxes at all. Look, at the end of the day, it’s ridiculous,” said Pappageorge. “He’s saying all kinds of things. Most of us don’t believe it, because Trump lies, and he lies a lot.”

But the Republican’s economic message resonates with some voters. The Trump International Hotel is one of the few major hotels on the Strip without a casino. Pointing to its enormous gold letters, Randall, a 51-year-old driver, expresses his support for its owner. “I’m Black and lower middle class and yet I support Trump. When he was president the world was at peace, everyone made money and when America does well, everyone does well,” he said, painting an idyllic picture of his administration.

Randall admits that his family is divided. “My little brother loves Trump, but my older brother and sister hate him,” he explained, adding: “Now everything is expensive. When gasoline goes up, everything goes up. The only way to lower inflation is with more energy and that is what Trump is going to do. Kamala was asked what she would have done differently than Biden and she said she couldn’t think of anything.”

Both Trump and Harris have been actively courting Latinos in Las Vegas, a demographic that represents one in five Nevada voters and holds a majority in the hospitality industry. Emmanuelle Leal-Santiñán, 41, a national spokesperson for Somos Latinos — an organization aimed at engaging Latino voters — challenges the notion that Trump is gaining substantial support among this group: “That’s a narrative that we hear every election, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t materialize. In 2022, we heard the same thing, that a red wave was coming in the Latino community, and it didn’t happen,” he said at a Mexican restaurant in East Las Vegas.

“What we hear from people at their doors is that their main issue is the economy. Their concern is the price of food and housing. Hispanic voters are looking for a candidate who can give them an economic vision for the future. We believe that Kamala Harris is doing that, while Trump talks a lot about problems, rather than solutions. Trump is fighting for corporations and for the rich,” he added.

“Democrats never take any vote for granted, and we work every day to expand our coalition and build a winning grassroots campaign,” said Carlos Perez, D-Calif. “Latino voters are a key part of our winning coalition, and we are committed to earning every vote.”

José, a 54-year-old electrician from Michoacán, Mexico, has lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and has held U.S. citizenship since 2005. He is an example of a Latino voter who does not support the Democrat. While he doesn’t particularly like either candidate, he admits that if forced to choose, he would prefer Trump. Despite being an immigrant himself, José finds Trump’s stance on immigration, which includes a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, to be “more coherent.” He believes that “many immigrants have arrived who don’t want to work.” Additionally, he does not agree with Harris’ position on abortion.

Democratic candidates have won Nevada in the last four presidential elections. In 2020, Biden won by a margin of 33,600 votes, receiving 50.1% of the vote compared to Trump’s 47.7%, out of a total of 1.4 million voters. This time, the polls show a much closer race, with perhaps a slight advantage for Trump. Predicting the winner feels like betting on red or black in roulette.

About 430 miles from Las Vegas, in a hotel near Lake Tahoe, Trump had an encounter with porn actress Stormy Daniels. He denies their affair, which Daniels detailed during a trial in New York. The falsification of invoices, checks, and accounting entries related to payments made to cover up that scandal led a jury to convict Trump of 33 crimes last May. The sentencing will occur after the elections, and Trump plans to appeal. For now, however, he is the first convicted criminal with a viable chance of reaching the White House.

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