(Kelly Chapman) – I couldn’t wait to check the mailbox. I’d been counting down the days until my eighth birthday, and today was finally the day!

Every year, Grandma sent me a card with money inside. It felt like treasure from a faraway land.  As soon as I finished lunch I sprinted to the front door, my ponytail bouncing with every step.

I raced down the driveway, my bare feet barely touching the ground. I opened the little door on the front of the mailbox and peeked inside.  There it was!

A bright pink envelope from Grandma with my name on it. My heart soared. I carefully pulled the envelope out and ran back to the house, waving it in the air. “Mom! Mom! It’s here!” I shouted as I burst through the door.

I tore open the envelope, my fingers trembling with excitement. Inside was a beautiful birthday card decorated with glittery balloons and a handwritten note from Grandma.

And tucked inside was a crisp, new $20 bill. Oh, happy day!

You probably had similar experiences growing up.  But can you imagine if Uncle Sam then tried to TAX that gift and take a chunk of it?  Kids would be breaking out pitchforks and torches and peddling madly around the block on their banana-seat Schwinns.

If you are or have ever worked in a restaurant, schlepped drinks in a bar, driven a taxi, parked cars, or had any job where tips were extended, you know they’re “gifts” for providing good service.  They’re not wages paid by your boss.

I got my start in the casino business as a blackjack dealer.  Some days, the gifts from players were big.  Other days they were small – if at all.  It all depended on whether the casino was busy and whether I provided friendly service.

Go the extra mile and you’re more likely to get extra-generous gifts.  You’re also more likely to get better table stations, better hours, and get hired to work in better restaurants, bars, and casinos.

As a service worker, you’re largely in control of your own income.  And in Las Vegas, that has allowed some high school graduates to earn as much as, if not more than, many with college degrees.

But others, especially younger workers just starting out, their income is small and unpredictable, making it tough to pay the rent and put food on the table.  Every dollar the government takes is a dollar less in your pocket.

Tips aren’t “income.”  Tips are “gifts.”  Just like Grandma used to send me. And it’s just not right to tax gifts.  Especially when service workers often work for lower hourly wages than other jobs.

And think about this: The person giving the tip has already paid taxes on that money.  Now it’s being taxed again.  So taxing tips is actually double taxation!  Our nation’s Founders threw tea in Boston Harbor over less than that.

In a speech in Las Vegas on June 9, 2024, Donald Trump called for an end to taxing tips.  It’s an idea whose time has come.

Since then, some people have begun writing notes on their bar and meal tabs reminding service workers that “With Trump, No Taxes on Tips.”  And shortly after Trump’s speech, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rick Scott introduced the “No Tax on Tips Act” in Congress.

Naysayers say the bill will “cost” the government around $150-$250 billion over ten years.

But according to a report published by Sen. Rand Paul last December, that same government wasted over $900 billion in 2023 alone – including $659 billion in interest on the national debt because Congress won’t live within its means like your family and mine has to do.

Why should a waiter or waitress at Denny’s be forced to pay for that waste by having their tip gifts taxed?  It’s shameful.  And it’s high time we gave the “little guys” a break instead of breaking the bank on their backs.

As a former service worker myself – now running to represent Nevada Assembly District 8 – if elected I will sponsor or co-sponsor a “No Tax on Tips” resolution in the Legislature next year calling on Congress to pass the Cruz-Scott bill if it hasn’t been passed already.

Tap your ruby slippers three times and repeat after me all the way to the ballot box: “There’s no tax on tips. There’s no tax on tips. There’s no tax…”

Ms. Chapman is a retired Las Vegas high-limit casino pit boss and 2024 candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 8. For more information, please visit www.ChapmanForNevada.com.  Kelly can be reached at kelly@chapman4nevada.com.