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Why is it Uber’s responsibility though? Why is this different from how restaurant servers are required to report their cash tips, but basically none of them do?

Why is it Uber’s responsibility though? Why is this different from how restaurant servers are required to report their cash tips, but basically none of them do? Should we blame the servers, the restaurant owner, the government, all of them, no one?

thatoneuser 8y ago
That industry shouldn’t exist the way it does either imho. It’s wrought with tax evasion itself. And minimum wage needs to be respected.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  I completely agree, but again, are we mad at restaurants for following the law when the servers are the ones breaking it?
  - michaelmrose 8y ago
    The servers in states which allow below minimum wage for tipped employees is keeping servers near starvation wages if not for state benefits and undeclared tips. The "market" rate is partially set based on those assumptions because employees wouldn't be able to live on what they are paid thus the labor force and thus the company would collapse without an increase in wages. In both cases its a transfer of wealth from the middle class to relatively rich owners. The extra cash helps for when business is slow and the server has to report they made the minimum wage to the employer anyway because the employer is responsible for ensuring that the server makes state minimum if the wage plus tips doesn't equal such. Basically the employer will just fire people who make the employer actually do this. It also helps cover the foregone wages when the employee is working through breaks and lunches even though the half hour lunch is deducted from the employees pay. In short employers sometimes pay as little as $2 an hour x 24 hours per week. Since nobody on earth can live on $200 a month some combination of tips from you, government benefits paid for by you, and second or third jobs makes survival possible. Most of us are not terribly concerned if the server is paying taxes properly and are concerned that the business is basically welfare for inefficient businesses who should probably go under.
rchaud 8y ago
Restaurants are responsible for reporting the formal wages paid by the restaurant to the staff, which can be counted, tracked and reported to the IRS. Cash tips paid to the server are essentially invisible to the employer. This is an accepted trade-off in a system where restaurants can pay below minimum wage. An Uber customer cannot pay cash. They pay Uber first (fare + optional tip) and Uber in turn pays the drivers. So they know with 100% certainty how much money is changing hands. For a company that is worth literally billions, having a basic financial reporting system that calculates the government's cut is not some kind of overbearing regulatory hassle.
alkonaut 8y ago
The equivalent here would be if waiters were given incentive to not report the whole check to the tax authority, never mind the tip.

thatoneuser 8y ago

That industry shouldn’t exist the way it does either imho. It’s wrought with tax evasion itself. And minimum wage needs to be respected.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
I completely agree, but again, are we mad at restaurants for following the law when the servers are the ones breaking it?
- michaelmrose 8y ago
  The servers in states which allow below minimum wage for tipped employees is keeping servers near starvation wages if not for state benefits and undeclared tips. The "market" rate is partially set based on those assumptions because employees wouldn't be able to live on what they are paid thus the labor force and thus the company would collapse without an increase in wages. In both cases its a transfer of wealth from the middle class to relatively rich owners. The extra cash helps for when business is slow and the server has to report they made the minimum wage to the employer anyway because the employer is responsible for ensuring that the server makes state minimum if the wage plus tips doesn't equal such. Basically the employer will just fire people who make the employer actually do this. It also helps cover the foregone wages when the employee is working through breaks and lunches even though the half hour lunch is deducted from the employees pay. In short employers sometimes pay as little as $2 an hour x 24 hours per week. Since nobody on earth can live on $200 a month some combination of tips from you, government benefits paid for by you, and second or third jobs makes survival possible. Most of us are not terribly concerned if the server is paying taxes properly and are concerned that the business is basically welfare for inefficient businesses who should probably go under.

rchaud 8y ago

Restaurants are responsible for reporting the formal wages paid by the restaurant to the staff, which can be counted, tracked and reported to the IRS. Cash tips paid to the server are essentially invisible to the employer. This is an accepted trade-off in a system where restaurants can pay below minimum wage. An Uber customer cannot pay cash. They pay Uber first (fare + optional tip) and Uber in turn pays the drivers. So they know with 100% certainty how much money is changing hands. For a company that is worth literally billions, having a basic financial reporting system that calculates the government's cut is not some kind of overbearing regulatory hassle.

alkonaut 8y ago

The equivalent here would be if waiters were given incentive to not report the whole check to the tax authority, never mind the tip.