Should tips be taxed?

Should tips be taxed

  • Total voters
    76
  • Poll closed .
There shouldn't be any tips period. I'm paying for what I ordered so why should I pay extra damn it, just because the guy that brings the food is nice? I'm so sick of things like this. For instance (slightly off topic) here even if you have health insurance, no doctor will pay any attention to you unless you pay him extra! He gets a big ass salary for Christ sake but he still expects extra cash:flame: ! So no 1000X no tips of any kind no matter what the service is period.[/rant]
 
I'm a waiter in a fairly up-scale seafood resturaunt in the US. The average dinner price per person is at around 40 dollars for the entree and drinks.

Alot of you see tips as an optional "extra" for the waiter, sadly this is not how the person yo uare tipping actually lives. Tips aren't a supplament to incom, they ARE the incom. Waiters at my resturaunt get paid 3-4 dollars an hour. We get a check every two weeks, and because of taxes most people end up not having any money at all, or 12 dollars or less. My last cheack from the resturaunt, for example, was 25 dollars. Thats for 55 hours of working at the resturaunt. We make ALL our money from tips.

For the people who don't tip because you don't think it's fair for you, you are actually costing your server money! At most resturaunts we pay a thing called "tip share". That is, a percentage of our total sales for the night is deducted from our tips in order to pay the other "servers" at the resturaunt that don't get tips directly from the customers, such as hostess or bussers. So if you sit down and spend a hundred dollars and decide not to tip at the end, not only do we make absolutely no money for our time in taking care of you, but it actually costs us money out of our pocket for you to sit at our table and eat. We end up paying for you to sit at our table and eat! In short, your a huge asshole.

If you go to a resturaunt you MUST tip. Your server doesn't get paid by the resturaunt, they get paid by YOU fro the service they provide for YOU!
 
ÞIcarus said:
If you go to a resturaunt you MUST tip. Your server doesn't get paid by the resturaunt, they get paid by YOU for the service they provide for YOU!
Click to expand...
I totally agree.

If you don't want to tip anyone, go to Burger King or McD's and eat a wad of grease.
If you can't afford a simple tip you shouldn't be squandering your money at the more upscale eateries.
 
What a load of baloney. If the waiters really are so badly payed that they need the tips (like ÞIcarus said it's their only source of income) then demand you get payed more, or get a better frikin' job. If things really are like you said:"it actually costs us money out of our pocket for you to sit at our table and eat" then you won't catch me in a restaurant in the US, and yes _Z_Ryuken I'll just go to Burger King or McD's:p .
 
KoreBolteR said:
we dont pay tips here but the taxes are terrible
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WTF??
Seriously, there must be a lot of waiters, barmen and taxi drivers out there who think you're an tight sod.
I don't know if you don't get out much, but in my experience, 'we' (in Britain) do tip. I'd be tempted to say what you're talking about might be one of those South Wales peculiarities :), but I lived in Swansea for a while and it was no different there....

I have to point out that I don't agree with the assumption that you should tip for any service... I'm just a coward.


ÞIcarus said:
they ARE the incom.
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So don't get into a job where your livelihood depends on people observing a custom. Or unionise against your employer. Simple. Don't express your financial frustration against people who don't agree with your outlook.

P.s. Ive worked in food service, catering and bar tending for years.
 
whoopsdblpostthismsgwillbeaddfedtothepreviouscommentin3..2...1.. beep.
 
pomegranate said:
So don't get into a job where your livelihood depends on people observing a custom. Simple.
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Yeah how about we do away with waiters and all waiting positions for the sake of people who don't like to give tips?
 
That wouldn't be neccessary. Some-one else would take the job, or restaurant owners would be forced to increase the basic rate of pay. People still like to go out to eat, there's still a profit to be made. I'm just saying don't be a cry baby if fortune doesn't go your way.
 
pomegranate said:
That wouldn't be neccessary. Some-one else would take the job, or restaurant owners would be forced to increase the basic rate of pay. People still like to go out to eat, there's still a profit to be made. I'm just saying don't be a cry baby if fortune doesn't go your way.
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1. Get a pizza cutter
2. Run it up and down your face a few dozen times
 
It should be included as part of their income, and if that income goes above the standard tax thresholds, yes they should be taxed. Just like everyone else.

Not that I believe in income tax of course.
 
kirovman said:
It should be included as part of their income, and if that income goes above the standard tax thresholds, yes they should be taxed. Just like everyone else.

Not that I believe in income tax of course.
Click to expand...

The Grand Unified States of Kirovman - "A nation is United through Hegemony" : Citizens pay a flat income tax of 13%

...
 
people who rely on tips make little enough money as it is without having to worry about their tips being taxed on top of their wages.
 
Geogaddi said:
1. Get a pizza cutter
2. Run it up and down your face a few dozen times
Click to expand...

Well done for bringing down a thread, you big man you. Seriously, your attitude suggests some kind of incredible bitterness. What's your problem? Hate your job?

Perhaps I wasn't clear:
I tip. But I don't like the automatic assumption that you should tip. Yes, wages in service are crap, but they are in many, many jobs. When you buy a new pair of shoes, and you really like them, does it cross your mind to send a few coins to the poor woman who stiched them together in the far east? If someone in a shop smiles nicely and sounds like they mean it when they say have a nice day, do you ever tip them? No. The only difference in waiting is that it's a custom, and expected. And that is bullshit.

To repeat myself: I work (and have for many years worked) in food service and bars. Tips are nice, but I don't set my budget around getting them. If your job doesn't pay enough, get a raise, or get promoted, or get a new job.
 
pomegranate said:
WTF??
Seriously, there must be a lot of waiters, barmen and taxi drivers out there who think you're an tight sod.
I don't know if you don't get out much, but in my experience, 'we' (in Britain) do tip. I'd be tempted to say what you're talking about might be one of those South Wales peculiarities :), but I lived in Swansea for a while and it was no different there.....
Click to expand...

LOL! im out all the time in bars and have a taxi home from cardiff (where i work) and they never ask for a tip. i go to resteraunts too and the waiter never asks for tips. obviously on the odd occasion if the waiter has been fantastic i will give one. but i disnt think the UK had a tipping culture unlike U.S. it might just be south wales tho :p

why should they be payed more, the requirement should be enuff. if they want tips they mazewell state this on the menu.

in my opinion :angel: :rolling: :p lolz

ps. its good to see im still in your sig pom..lol :cheers: *laughs at the fat ginger cat*
 
Part of the South Wales culture...only tip if abroad!

Well, i'll let the taxi guy keep the change after a night out..usually only about 50p but heh, it's the thought eh :p
 
Evo said:
Part of the South Wales culture...only tip if abroad!

Well, i'll let the taxi guy keep the change after a night out..usually only about 50p but heh, it's the thought eh :p
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exactly! they get my tip when i cant be assed to recv change.

'keep the change, you filthy animal' :E
 
KoreBolteR said:
exactly! they get my tip when i cant be assed to recv change.

'keep the change, you filthy animal' :E
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It is so true, i can't be arsed with another wad of change, after a night out always have a pocket full of 10's/20's/50's and don't want any more, keep it you master of speeding on the roads and avoiding the speed cameras! :E
 
I just realized the tax system is like...

Customer @ Worker "Hey, you did a good job, really helpful. Here's some money, keep up the good work!"

Worker @ Customer "Thanks!"

State/Federal government @ Customer "HEY HEY! I DID GOOD TOO YEAH!!!???"

Customer "No, you didn't do anything..."

Gov "oh..."

*customer walks away*

Government @ Worker "Wanna die?"

Worker "Umm, no..."

Gov "Good. Fork over the cash"
 
15357 said:
The Grand Unified States of Kirovman - "A nation is United through Hegemony" : Citizens pay a flat income tax of 13%

...
Click to expand...

Hey, it used to be 0% but I have to fund my doomsday device somehow?
 
Don't tax them. I worked at a place where I got tipped. It was nice. Tipping is like just giving someone money. If I give you $20, should that be taxed?
 
Uh, sorry my rant must have come across wrong. I wasn't taking out any "financial frustrations", I make very good money where I work and I love my job for the time being. I only work about 5 hours a day and I walk out with cash in my pocket after every shift, and I make the same as if I was working 35 hours a week at 20 per hour, so I'm not complaining. I happen to work at a very decent resturaunt though with fairly high prices and alot of good clientel. Tips are good.

I realize alot of you live outside of the US and things may be a bit different, but "customary" is a pretty weak word to describe the act of tipping. Generally people understand 15% is the minimum and to not tip is incredibly insulting. I have worked in this industry for about 4 months, and I take about 8 tables per night. A bit of math shows that since I have been doing this I have waited on about 640 tables. Factor in the shifts I my have occasionally picked up for other servers and such and we can round it off to about 680 - 700 tables. In all those tables, I have never EVER not been tipped. Every table tipped me. Trust me, if they didn't I would have remembered. So you see, tipping is very standard where I live. Though technically it's optional, it's still understood that it's standard.

Keep in mind though, it's not like I deliver pizzas or work at sonic, I work at a fairly upscale resturaunt and my clients are generally well-off. My average tip is 20% and my highest tip that I can recall was around 60%. Ofcourse the occasional bad tip of 10% and such does come along, but it is rare at my resturaunt.

So, I didn't mean to make it sound like a sob story, it's just al lthe talk of "why should I be expected to tip" was pretty insulting. Again, maybe it's different where you live, but here if you go to a resturaunt and you don't tip your waiter your a ****ing douche. My friend that actually talked me into coming into this business works at a higher class resturaunt than I do and makes much more money, and during the weekends he works for an up-scale catering service where he takes home about 350 - 400 $ per night. Thats ALL tips! It all depends on where you work, but you can seriously bank if you know what your doing.
 
Since I would wish to decrease all taxes by 90%, no I would not like to tax tips.
 
ÞIcarus said:
long quote
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Respect to you for responding reasonably.
To be fair, it does seem like the setup and attitude is quite different over there. That said, it seems rather odd way of doing business (from the perspective of the restaurant owner), that your staff don't make any money unless they're tipped, and their income doesn't come from the owner. The only equivalent relationship between manager and workers I can think of is lap dancers (I don't mean that to be insulting)...
 
Well it's not just my resturaunt, it's the way all resturaunts work. The only people who make a substantial hourly wage directly from the resturaunt are the bartenders/cooks/managers. Servers make a very small wage that gets eaten up by taxes and their incom comes from tips. This works both for the resturaunt because they make more money, and for the waiters because ultimately they make more money from the guests than the resturaunt would ever be willing to pay them. For the resturaunt to equal what I make in tips, they would have to pay me around 25-30 $ per hour. Considering there are around 10 - 15 waiters on the floor on any given night, the resturaunt wouldn't be able to afford this. It ends up being mutually beneficial.
 
Random fact - in many countries, the "tip" is a really alien concept. For example, Iceland. Leave a tip there, and they'll tell you that you've miscounted your money, and you've given them 20% too much.

Also, before you penis-slap Numbers, consider the following:

Wikipedia said:
South Korea
Tipping is not the custom in South Korea and it is almost never expected. Many hotels and a few tourist restaurants add 10% service charge on their checks. However, it is deemed customary (although not mandatory) to tip porters and maids in international hotels, and it is always considered a generous gesture to ask taxi drivers to keep the change, although they never will refuse to make the changes or ask for tips (even when they help customer with their luggage).
Click to expand...

In the US, the service industry relys on tips to pay the waiters. In South Korea, they get better wages.

-Angry Lawyer
 
I'd also like to clarify that in north america it's almost rude to not tip ..the next time you walked into the bar/restuarant expect to wait for long periods of time to get anything ...servers/bartenders have long memories

tipping ups the quality of service .I've been to parts of europe and south america where tipping wasnt the norm ..and the service was sub par everywhere I went
 
Exactly, it's a very culture-specific thing. Typically, in my neck of the woods, you only tip if you've been given decent service, which doesn't happen too often in Crawley.

Also, I've never seen anyone tip a bartender. Ever.

-Angry Lawyer
 
15357 said:
I'd rather give no tips and no tax. Seriously, why do you have to give tips? Tipping is the single most weirdest ritual that I've witnessed in the US.
Click to expand...
Angry Lawyer said:
In the US, the service industry relys on tips to pay the waiters. In South Korea, they get better wages.
Click to expand...

In Australia they get better wages as well so there's no need for tips. Not part of the culture. If it was, i don't think it should be taxed.
 
It shouldnt be taxed anyway, it is money donated through the kindness of a customer.
 
If that's the case, I wish my job paid me in tips rather than a normal salary :p


Also, I think the question "Should taxes be tipped?" needs to be raised.
 
In Sweden, tips are included in the price, so you don't have an option if you want to pay it or not. I think it should be taxed, as should all incomes.
 
"It's a gift" doesn't convince me.
It seems more like money in exchange for goods or services to me.
 
expecting people to pay tips is wrong. it should be down to the customer if had good service.
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Also, I've never seen anyone tip a bartender. Ever.

-Angry Lawyer
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no drinks for you ..I've cut off people at the bar for less than that ..no, actually I'd never not serve someone cuz they didnt tip ..I might not go that extra mile (less ice, more booze, pop with no fizz etc) but I wouldnt cut them off ..I know of bartenders who would though ..I have cut people off for being an asshole/rude. Once had to cut off a very drunk woman cuz she kept flashing her boobies ..usually that would have been ok in my books but they were I-smoke-3-packs-aday/drink-jack-daniels kinda boobies ..and they werent very pretty
 
lol i was in greece on holiday once and my grandma payed for all the drinks giving a lot more money waiting for some change at least (she must have payed a 100 euro note or something... and drinks cost 40.

i put my hand up to say thanks to the waiter as he walked away, for being cool.. and they ASSUMED i was saying keep the change. oh man, my grandma was pissed and pissed off :O (if ya get me .. lol)
 
lol, the tip is meant to be paid after the main fee.

Those Crazy crooks.
 
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