Garden State Times

Senator Vince Polistina has introduced a bill aimed at exempting tips from being taxed under New Jersey's gross income tax. The proposed legislation, identified as S-3741, seeks to remove tips from the list of taxable income categories.

"Taxing tips is like taking credit for someone else's hard work. These gratuities are a reward for excellent customer service, and workers deserve to keep their earnings without the government taking a cut," stated Senator Polistina. He emphasized that this bill is "a common sense, pro-worker bill that will support our service industry, which is the backbone of Atlantic City and vital to many other communities across New Jersey."

Currently, state law considers tips as taxable income. Many employees in the service industry depend on these gratuities to supplement their income since base wages often fall short of covering living expenses. This includes workers such as restaurant servers, bartenders, casino dealers, hotel staff, hairdressers and barbers, food delivery workers, among others.

"At the core of this legislation is easing the financial burden for many of the service industry workers who call New Jersey home," Senator Polistina concluded. He noted that similar discussions are happening nationwide as multiple states pursue comparable legislation. "This should be a bi-partisan issue supported by all to provide direct relief to some of our hardest working citizens."

For more information or to speak with Senator Polistina, interested parties can contact Chris Sivel at [email protected].