Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael 61
I’d rather have everything included in one bill, like Europe - and abolish the tip. Now that tips are pooled in most places, I feel reluctant to over-tip for exceptional service, knowing that my server will not receive my tip exclusively. Also, I’ve begun to think about a flat-rate tip, and not based on the total bill (takes same effort to serve and deliver a hamburger as a steak), and base the tip on how many times did the server come to my table (tip more for a multi-course meal, and not as much for a once-and-done delivery, with no further contact with your server).
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If you pay the tip in cash to whoever you feel deserves the tip, that person is responsible for declaring that income on their yearly tax return but - they also don't have to share that tip with anyone else. Granted, most cash-tip totals never make it into the tax return, but that's not your responsibility as the tipper.
When I worked a restaurant in Florida many years ago, we were paid $2.75/hour (give or take). It was /assumed/ that our tips combined with our wage equaled minimum wage - and we were taxed accordingly out of our paycheck. That was whether we were paid a tip in cash or credit card. But sometimes our tips didn't combine with our wages to equal minimum wage, and we overpaid tax, and earned less than minimum even before taxes were deducted.
Federal law has changed since then - but Florida law has not. Florida has no laws regarding how employers can/must treat wages of their employees. They don't even have a department of labor.