gratuity

Tipping in the United States has roots in the post-Civil War era, when wealthy Americans traveling to Europe returned with the habit of giving gratuities to workers in service positions.

The debate is not restricted to restaurants - gratuities can be offered to many workers including hairdressers, taxi drivers and hotel porters.

Not long after Trump called for an end to taxes on tips, Vice President Kamala Harris also said she would end tips on gratuities.

Excluding tips from federal income tax might simplify employer paperwork and erase the difference between easily tracked credit card charges and cash gratuities, which often go unreported.

Republicans on the Supreme Court declared in Snyder that bribing an elected official isn’t bribery if it’s paid to the official after the fact, because then it’s really more of a “gratuity.”