According to recent polls, Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances of winning the key swing state of Nevada have skyrocketed.
On Saturday, at a rally at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Democratic presidential candidate promised to work to eliminate taxes on tips paid to hospitality and service industry workers.
“I pledge to everyone here that when I am president, we will continue our fight for American working families, including raising the minimum wage and eliminating tip taxes for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said.
His promise echoes one made by his opponent, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, at a rally in Las Vegas in June.
As of August 11, according to Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin polls, Harris was leading in Nevada, with 45.1 percent of the vote to Trump’s 43.5 percent. As of early August, the polling average had Trump leading Harris, with 43.9 percent to 42.5 percent.
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According to 270towin.com, an average of five recent polls also showed Harris leading Trump in Nevada, 45.2% to 44.6%.
At his rally in Las Vegas, the former president promised that one of the first steps he would take if he won the White House in November would be to end the tax on the income of service workers. “Hospitality workers and people who get tips are going to be thrilled because when I take office, we’re not going to tax tips on people who get tips,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris and Trump campaigns via email for comment.
After Harris’ announcement Saturday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that she “is starting to get beaten in the polls” and “just copied my NO TAX ON TIPS policy.”
He added: “The difference is she won’t do it, she just wants it for political reasons! It was TRUMP’s idea. She has no idea, she can only steal from me.”
Kitchen Workers Local 226, which called Trump’s campaign promise “crazy” in June, announced its support for Harris on Friday.
Harris “has consistently stood up for our union and hotel workers,” Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said in a statement.
He continued: “She stood by us as we negotiated and won the best union contract ever, and we trust her to continue the progress of the Biden/Harris administration by delivering real results that will put working families first and protect them.”
The proposal to end tip taxes has garnered significant public support, according to a recent poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for News week.
The survey, conducted July 29 among 1,750 U.S. voters, found that 67% of Americans do not think tips given to service workers should be taxed, while 19% think they should be.
Support for the proposal crossed partisan lines, with 68% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats in favor of ending the tip tax.
Are you a Nevada hospitality or service industry worker with thoughts on the proposal to eliminate tip taxes? Email k.rahman@newsweek.com.
