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Politics

Ron Paul Goes After Bartender Vote

Matt Welch | 6.6.2011 11:23 AM

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From the New York Post:

Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican presidential candidate from Texas, has become an unlikely hero among bar and restaurant workers as he fights for a bill that would end all taxes on tips -- the bread and butter of bartenders and waiters.

Last Thursday, a group of Paul's Big Apple supporters, called the Ron Paul NYC Liberty HQ, held a Manhattan pub crawl in support of the legislation.

"It's just not right. That money is supposed to be a gratuity for [the workers], not for the government," said Dominic Inferrera, 38, a volunteer with the group. […]

Paul introduced the Tax Free Tips Act of 2011 in March. The measure would end all income tax, Social Security withholding and other federal levees on any tips earned by salaried workers.

"Unlike regular wages, a service-sector employee usually has no guarantee of, or legal right to, a tip," Paul said in 2009, when he introduced a similar bill.

"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 tip, taxing tips punishes workers for doing a superior job."

Whole thing here; link via the Twitter feed of Lew Rockwell.

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NEXT: Obama, Boehner Should Play Mini-Golf to Haggle Over Mini-Cuts to Budget

Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

PoliticsPolicyEconomicsNanny StateAlcoholTaxesRon Paul
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