April 2011
We need more people like this in congress!
Call Congressman Collin Peterson Washington # 1-202-225-2165
Tell him to support H.R. 1139
Congressman Ron Paul's following statement accompanied the introduction of H.R. 1139, the
Tax Free Tips Act.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to help millions of working Americans by introducing the Tax Free Tip Act.
As the title suggests, this legislation exempts tips from federal income and payroll taxes. Tips
often compose a substantial portion of the earnings of waiters, waitresses, and other service-
sector employees. However, unlike regular wages, a service-sector employee usually has no
guarantee of, or legal right to, a tip. Instead, the amount of a tip usually depends on how well an
employee satisfies a client. Since the amount of taxes one pays increases along with the size of
the tip, taxing tips punishes workers for doing a superior job!
Many service-sector employers are young people trying to make money to pay for their
education, or single parents struggling to provide for their children. Oftentimes, these workers
work two jobs in hopes of making a better life for themselves and their families. The Tax Free
Tips Act gives these hard-working Americans an immediate pay raise. People may use this pay
raise to devote more resources to their children's, or their own, education, or to save for a home,
retirement, or to start their own businesses.
Helping Americans improve themselves by reducing their taxes will make our country stronger. I
therefore hope all my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring the Tax Free Tips Act.
