LAS VEGAS — Rep. Steven Horsford, Nevada Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has signed on to a GOP-sponsored House bill to make tipped wages tax-free.
Horsford, a four-term House member who escorted President Biden during the latter’s abortive Vegas visit last week, came out Sunday in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s bid to become the Democrat’s Presidential candidate.
The House measure, introduced by Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Republican, apparently mirrors a Senate bill launched July 9 by Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Democrat.
Both measures came approximately one month after former President Donald Trump told a Las Vegas rally that if returned to the White House, “We are going to not charge taxes on tips, on people making tips.”
Trump’s statement brought massive cheers at the outdoor rally in the city’s Sunset Park, where supporters gathered in 100-plus degree heat to support their candidate.
Days after the Cruz bill was introduced, Nevada’s two Senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, became the only Democrats in the upper chamber to co-sponsor the measure. As of now, Horsford is the only House Democrat to co-sponsor the bill.
Making tips tax-free for workers would be popular in Nevada, as thousands of residents work in the state’s hotels, casinos and restaurants — as well as adult entertainment establishments and brothels. Tips can form a substantial part of a worker’s wages, although some businesses require sharing tips among staff or, in the case of at least one brothel, with the “house.”
Horsford was unavailable to comment on his backing of the Donalds bill, but a spokesman noted the four-term Democrat has long advocated for better tax treatment of tipped workers, saying the Internal Revenue Service’s Tip Allocation Rate was not in line with reality.
The Congressman faces a November challenge from former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, a onetime ally who bolted the Democratic Party and joined the GOP.