Vice President Kamala Harris surprised Democrats by announcing that she supports a plan first proposed by former President Donald Trump to exempt taxes on tips for services and hospitality workers, and many on the left continue to oppose the plan.
"It's not something I saw coming," a senior Senate Democrat aide told The Hill in a report published Wednesday. "I did not expect her to go on the tipped-wage thing. I did not see it as a serious proposal from Trump and it doesn't become a serious proposal now."
Key Democrat lawmakers and progressives panned the proposal when Trump floated it during meetings in June with Republican lawmakers, calling it a "bogus" play for votes, and saying it is not fair to lower- and middle-income workers who don't work for tips.
Harris' support of the idea is being seen as her play for votes in Nevada and its service workers, but policy experts say that the proposal could impact the nation's economy with the loss of tip revenue.
The left says that employers could use the lack of taxes on tips as an excuse to keep base-level wages low, not to mention prompting some businesses to aggressively seek tips from customers rather than allowing workers to have pay raises.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been assuming that Harris would continue Biden's economic agenda, but her campaign has not talked much about her policies.
Democrats say her lack of an agenda is a major concern, considering that Trump's landmark 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire at the end of 2025.
And as for eliminating taxes for tips, progressives were caught by surprise when Harris backed Trump's idea, said Bob Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America's Future.
"Most people thought it was a silly idea when Trump did it," he said. "I think she just endorsed it to take it off the table. I don't think it's a serious thing."
Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee panned the proposal when Trump introduced it in June, telling GOP senators that he got the idea from a waitress he had met.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Trump's idea is "bogus" and said other policies he'd proposed, such as tariffs would increase the cost of goods, wiping out any advantage for the tipped workers.
Steven Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, said it would be too difficult to draft legislation that exempts tipped income that doesn't encourage others to take advantage of the law.
"I don't know how I would draft it to exclude my plumber or my maid," he said. "We already have too many people asking for tips. … What are we going to see? A grocery teller asking for tips? Plumbers? Where would you draw that line?"
He added that there is no difference between the Trump and Harris plans, and as Trump's call had been panned, it "catches people short" that the vice president would come up with the same proposal.
The Harris campaign noted that labor unions encourage the idea of no taxes for tipped workers. Nevada's Democrat Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez announced their support for legislation eliminating taxes on tips.
Nevada's Culinary Union, the largest organization of working women in the state, also supports the plan.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden would sign legislation for the no-tax plan if it reaches his desk.