Well, actually, @SnflwrQueen_ ...
That server is required to pay income tax on 8% of their sales, based on the govt assumption that the server earned at least 8% in tips. Less than an 8% tip means it costs that server $ to wait on those guests, who couldn’t GAF about this detail.
That server is required to pay income tax on 8% of their sales, based on the govt assumption that the server earned at least 8% in tips. Less than an 8% tip means it costs that server $ to wait on those guests, who couldn’t GAF about this detail.
DYK, @SnflwrQueen_, that tipping began as a way for railroad barons to pay their black porters less? This is a system that continues into the present day, with tipped employees earning a lower minimum wage than in any other industry.
@SnflwrQueen_ The assumption has always been that a tipped employee will earn enough in tips to make up the disparity between the tipped wage & minimum wage. For many, that simply isn’t the case.
@SnflwrQueen_ Another wrong assumption: the server keeps all of their tips. Wrong, because the bar, & busboys & food runners, receive a cut of the server’s tips. The server will finish the shift with 60-70% of their total tips.
@SnflwrQueen_ That server still needs health insurance, which most privately owned restaurants don’t provide. What is a simple payroll deduction for most other folks doesn’t apply, the server has to budget health premiums from their tips.
@SnflwrQueen_ Let’s circle back to my original tweet. Taxes. Taken out of the check, no problem, right? Actually, problem. Servers have to declare what they earned in tips each shift, & that is reflected in their W-2.
@SnflwrQueen_ Come tax time, the W-2 will essentially say that the server didn’t earn enough in already artificially low wage to cover federal/state/local. So now this person owes Uncle Sam, either a lump sum or a payment plan.
@SnflwrQueen_ I’ve been stressing for years to tipped employees, put 1/3 of what they make in a savings account for tax time, & live off the rest. Easier said than done, because depending on the server’s location, rent & utilities alone could eat up 2 weeks of tips per month.
@SnflwrQueen_ My guys are lucky, as they’re in a stratus of luxury dining that allows them to have those savings accounts, even contribute to the company’s 401(k) plan. 90% of their industry peers, however, don’t share that kind of luck.
@SnflwrQueen_ “They should get a real job.” Every job where you go to work, provide some sort of labor, then go home at the end of the shift, is a real job. I’m proud to call many career hospitality professionals my friends. We’re rightfully proud of our careers. Yes. Careers.
@SnflwrQueen_ So the next time you want to denigrate the honest labor of that server who should be thankful for getting a $1 tip on a $154 check, think again. That server was depending on the tip because it is their income.
@SnflwrQueen_ If you don’t want to tip, don’t want to participate in what I’ve heard called “a cruel capitalist system intended to keep the workers down” (& I don’t disagree with this), then your next decision should be simple. Don’t eat in restaurants where people wait on you.
@SnflwrQueen_ Here endeth the lesson.
