FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 23, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union urges U.S. Treasury to deliver real relief for tipped workers through fair IRS rules: No Taxes on Tips must work for working-class Nevadans
Las Vegas, NV – Culinary Union has submitted formal recommendations to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the Public Hearing on Proposed Regulations regarding “Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips; Definition of qualified tips” scheduled today Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 7:00am pacific / 10:00am eastern, calling for the implementation of pro-worker rules in the “No Taxes on Tips” policy to ensure that hospitality workers, not corporations, receive the real relief they were promised.
“Culinary Union supports tax relief for tipped workers and urges the IRS to consider our recommendations and develop pro-worker rules for the new tax policy. Culinary Union members, who work as bell persons or as food, cocktail, and banquet servers, among other positions, rely on tips as a core component of their income and the success of this policy depends on rules to give them the real relief they deserve,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Tipped workers deserve relief, but this program must be done right, so we are committed to working collaboratively with Treasury and the IRS to make No Taxes on Tips is fair, simple, and that implementation is not delayed in order to ease the tax burden for hospitality workers. Our union will also continue to fight to make No Taxes on Tips permanent - just like the tax breaks for the billionaires were made in the Big Ugly Bill. If implemented, Culinary Union recommendations would have a meaningful impact on tens of thousands of tipped hospitality workers in Nevada and countless more across the country. Culinary Union will closely monitor as Treasury develops regulations for the new tax policy to make sure it benefits working-class taxpayers as promised.”
In the letter sent Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Culinary Union urged Treasury and the IRS to include provisions in No Taxes on Tips to ensure:
*Automatic gratuities and suggested tips are treated as eligible tip income.
*There is no marriage penalty and double cap for joint filers. Married couples should receive $25,000 per individual on a joint return (up to $50,000 per couple).
*The IRS does not impose a requirement that both spouses must use a Social Security Number. Workers filing with ITINs should not excluded from eligibility, allowing for deduction for joint returns where the taxpayer includes a SSN, regardless of the spouse’s filing ID.
*GITCA participants maintain audit protections and can opt into the deduction based on their designated tip rates.
*Streamlined reporting systems, already in place for workers under existing tip compliance agreements, remain entact.
*Immediate withholding adjustments are implemented so that tipped workers see relief as soon as possible.
*Treasury and IRS collaborate with Culinary Union so that rules reflect real on-the-ground workplace conditions in the hospitality industry.
“I’m thankful that I get paid a livable wage as a tipped worker thanks to my union who has been fighting for the working class. My great wages and strong union contract that helps me have a good standard of living. It’s a big difference compared to non-union hospitality workers who are making a sub-minimum wage in other states, which is as little as $2.13 an hour. Not paying taxes on my tips would help me with my day-to-day life, to buy more groceries - especially now that everything has gone up due to the price gouging from big corporations,” said Aaron Mahan, a fountain worker in a Las Vegas resort casino, and Culinary Union member for 15 years. “Tips are a gift from customers and it’s never guaranteed. Not having taxes on my tips will help my co-workers and I because often our tip compliance is higher than what we actually make in tips. My employer actually opted out of tip compliance, which worries me because in Las Vegas tipped workers fear yearly tax audits. I would also like to thank Congressman Steven Horsford for fighting for what is right by re-introducing the TIPS Act and for fighting the working class, unlike President Trump who made sure to include his billionaire friends in permanent tax relief, but forgot to include the middle class in his tax plan.”
—
ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latino/a, Black, AAPI, immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latino/a, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 90 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
###