PARADISE, Nev. – While Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz prepared for a campaign rally Saturday in Las Vegas on the city’s famed Vegas Strip, rideshare drivers collectively voiced their support for former President Trump’s plan to end taxation of gratuities.
In June, Trump announced he would enact a no-tax-on-tips policy for employees geared toward those who rely on them for a large part of their income, like cabbies, lodging industry workers and waitstaff.
“[F]or 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. … It’s been a point of contention for years and years and years, and you do a great job of service, you take care of people and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved,” Trump said at the time.
Trump’s announcement came around the same time senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Steve Daines, R-Mont; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., co-sponsored the “No Tax on Tips Act.”
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Michael, a Las Vegas rideshare driver, spoke to Fox News Digital Saturday. (Fox News Digital)
Busy Vegas rideshare drivers, who declined to give last names or requested anonymity, told Fox News Digital they’re likely voting for the Trump after his “no-tax-on-tips” pledge.
Reed, a registered Democrat who said he will be voting for Trump this fall, said the plan is just one more reason he looks forward to pulling the lever for the former president.
“On a personal level, that would be wonderful — that’s terrific,” Reed said as he drove west on Tropicana Boulevard toward the New York, New York resort.
Reed added that a friend of his is also a service industry worker who relies on tips for nearly half her annual compensation. The woman was previously “not a Trump supporter or fan in any way,” he said.
“Until he made the comment about ‘no tax on tips.’ … Now, she’s willing to vote for Trump on that one subject alone.”
Michael, who was waiting for a passenger at a nearby casino, called the plan “awesome.”
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Ruiz, a rideshare driver originally from Cuba, spoke to Fox News Digital Saturday. (Fox News Digital)
“I’m a registered independent,” Michael said. “And [Trump] is going to get my vote.”
Another driver, who declined to give his name, called the plan “really good.”
“I don’t like what that politician, [President] Biden, is doing. Everything is expensive,” he said, adding that, in addition to gratuity taxes, spiking gasoline prices have hurt his bottom line.
He added that expenses like gasoline and taxes eat into the take-home pay he gets after his rideshare employer also takes its cut.
Ruiz, an immigrant from Cuba, said his “overhead costs” have increased in recent years and that he would support the policy.
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A Las Vegas rideshare driver speaks out on former President Trump’s no-tax-on-tips plan. (Fox News Digital)
Adanis, speaking in Spanish, said the policy would be “better for me,” adding he hopes the next president will bring down gas prices too.
He echoed other drivers’ concerns that between taxes, fuel and maintenance costs and rideshare companies’ slice of the fiscal pie, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sufficient money in his line of work.
Another driver had a similar contention, remarking that the increasing cost of rideshares overall is pushing people toward cheaper, subsidized but slower mass transit options.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.