Kamala Harris' 'Copycat' Tax Plan Backed by Majority of Republicans

The majority of Americans support plans to end federal taxes on tips given to service industry workers, according to an exclusive poll for Newsweek which shows why Kamala Harris embraced the policy plan first announced by her opponent Donald Trump.

The survey run by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on July 29 among 1,750 eligible voters in the U.S. showed that 67 percent of Americans believe that tips given to service workers should not be taxed. At the time of the survey, conducted before Harris pledged to cut taxes on tips, Republicans were slightly more in favor of the policy (68 percent) than Democrats (65 percent).

Plans to cut federal taxes on tips were first announced by Trump in Las Vegas, Nevada, in early June. "This is the first time I've said this, and 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 people [are] making," the Republican nominee told the June 9 rally's crowd.

"We're going to do that right away first thing in office because it's been a point of contention for years and years and years, and you do a great job of service."

After Trump's announcement, the policy proposal was formally adopted as part of the Republican National Committee's 2024 platform.

During a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, Harris—who formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination last Monday—announced the same policy proposal to an equally enthusiastic crowd.

"When I am president, 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," the vice president said.

On the same night, Harris received the endorsement of the Culinary Union, the largest union in the state of Nevada which represents 60,000 hospitality workers, who'd benefit the most from the policy.

While Trump immediately accused Harris of being a "copycat" with "no imagination" on his social media platform Truth Social, the vice president's decision to embrace a policy proposal first announced by her rival shows just how popular a move ending taxes on tips could be.

Considering that 68 percent of Republicans support the policy proposal, according to our recent poll, the plan could help Harris sway GOP voters unconvinced by Trump's candidacy toward supporting her in the November election.

The policy has already shown to be able to gather bipartisan support, having gained the backing of Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Nevada's Democratic Representatives Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen.

But both Trump's and Harris' proposals have been vague enough so far that it's hard to tell what the impact of the policy would be should it be implemented by either candidate.

Neither candidate specified whether they'd eliminate income tax or both income tax and payroll taxes that service workers pay on their tips.

Are you a service worker? We'd like to know your opinion on the proposal to end federal taxes on tips. Contact g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Update 8/13/2024 5:30 a.m. ET: The headline has been changed.