* As to the original question - fairness to other workers who get similar actual income but no tax break (either self-manufactured - or as proposed by Trump)
* Fairness across shifts - when I was in college the less favored servers were given the breakfast shift; the more favored got the dinner shift; the formal wage was identical, so guess who got more money?
* Fairness to customers - we pay 20% because we know that others don't tip at all, or tip almost nothing. Because we hate the tipping system - but are unwilling to take that out on tipped workers, we are subsidizing not only the employer (who gets away with paying almost nting) but also those who just don't care whether the person who served them gets paid a reasonable wage.
* Fairness to honest tipped workers. My daughter reported every penny of her tips (and was taxed on it). My sister does not (so she receives proportionately more to live on than my daughter.
* Fairness as to social security - tipped employees (and those working under the table at other jobs) who are not reporting their income are both contributing to the inability of social security to provide income in retirement - and contributing to the likelihood that the worker will need public assistance in retirement (because their SS retirement pay will be lower because it is based on reported income)
And, not fairness exactly, but many tipped employees are still coerced to putting on sexual display in order to earn enough to pay the bills, according to a friend I discussed this with recently.
Replacing the sub-minimum wage for tipped employees resolves all of this.
* All people with the same income as traditionally tipped employees will be taxed on the same amount
* Breakfast shift people will receive the same income as dinner shift people, since tips no longer play a rold
* I will be paying less for my meal, and the person who now doesn't tip will be paying more, since I will no longer be coerced into subsidizing the non-tipper (it's all included as part of the bill, as it should be)
* My daughter and my sister will both be taxed on their actual income, rather than my daughter subsidizing my sister
* The income to social security will increase, as more income is reported (and taxed), and my sister won't have to work until she dies (as she will now) because her SS income would be based on far less than she actually made.
* and since income isn't tied to sex appeal, my friend (and others similarly situated) can wear clothes designed to make her work easier - not to appeal to customers so they give her more money, and can return to the no-make-up look that is standard for her - except when she is using make-up to increase her tips.
= new reply since forum marked as read