White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced today that Trump will be in Nevada and Arizona during “tax week” to talk about the benefits of his policies.
“Next week is tax week,” Leavitt said. “You’ll hear a lot from the president about how his policies have benefitted the American people… the president will be traveling next week to the great states of Nevada and Arizona to tout this historic accomplishment.”
We don’t have the full schedule yet, but we don’t have to guess what the focus will be.
Taxes on tips.
Trump first brought that idea up right here in Las Vegas during a 2024 campaign rally at Sunset Park.
At the time, a lot of people shrugged it off. Now it’s being taken seriously.
And if you live in Nevada, that makes sense.
This state runs on tips.
The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation says tens of thousands of Nevadans work in jobs where tips aren’t a bonus. They’re the bulk of what you take home.
Think about a server working a busy shift on the Strip. Let’s say they make $150 in tips that night.
Right now, a chunk of that goes to taxes.
If that tax goes away, that’s money they just get to keep.
Not theory. Not a long-term promise. Cash in their pocket at the end of the night.
If someone hands you money for doing a good job, the government shouldn’t take a cut. That’s the pitch.
They also point back to Trump’s earlier tax changes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered rates for many Americans, and IRS data showed a lot of middle-income households saw some relief.
So this is being framed as more of the same idea. Let people keep more of what they earn.
Labor groups say this doesn’t fix the bigger problem. They argue workers should get higher base wages instead of relying on tips in the first place.
But higher wages don’t just appear on their own. They’re often tied to higher prices, fewer jobs, or both.
And in Nevada, this isn’t an abstract debate.
It’s the bartender at your local spot.
It’s the dealer at the casino.
It’s the person bringing food to your table after a long day.
For a lot of folks here, tips aren’t extra spending money. They’re rent. They’re groceries. They’re gas to get back to work the next day.
That’s why this issue lands differently here than it might in other states.
And it’s why Nevada keeps ending up right in the middle of these national conversations.
We’ll know more once Trump’s full schedule is released.
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