Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) has recently become a co-sponsor of a Republican bill aimed at removing taxes on tips, despite previously holding an opposing viewpoint. As of Thursday, Rosen joined Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) as the two Democratic senators from Nevada to support S.4621. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), seeks to “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the application of the income tax on cash tips through a deduction allowed to all individual taxpayers.
The proposal has gained support from both political sides, with former President Donald Trump expressing his intent to eliminate taxes on tips if elected and Sam Brown, Rosen’s Republican opponent in Nevada’s Senate, also supporting the measure. Brown revealed that Trump’s idea was a policy they had been developing for the general election.
Rosen’s campaign spokesperson, Johanna Warshaw, described the promise to eliminate taxes on tips as a “distraction” and accused Brown of trying to cover up his agenda of giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporate special interests. However, Maggie Abboud, spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), criticized Rosen’s decision to co-sponsor the bill as an act of desperation to save her political career. Brown praised Rosen for supporting a solution for working families and emphasized that he understood the struggle of workers who need to put in long hours to make ends meet.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Workers Union, had previously called Trump’s promise to eliminate taxes on tips “empty,” but expressed pride in Rosen and Cortez Masto for joining the bill as co-sponsors, stating that he was “proud to have senators who are fighting to deliver real results for working families.