Lisa Ann wrote:
> Peter wrote:
>
>>Christ on crutches, this myth that waiters pay tax on tips they do not
>>receive is put BS. It is something that is spread by people who are ignorant
>>of the tax code and also by waiters who are trying to squeeze money in tips
>>they do not deserve.
>
>
> You're half right.
>
> In many chain restaurants (which this wasn't, apparently), owners are
> exempt from paying servers minimum wage.

In most places around the country, this holds - for all restaurants
where servers are tipped.

> When I was a manager at Pizza
> Hut, we paid servers $2.15 an hour, assuming that their tips would make
> up the remaining $3 balance.

Same as when I owned restaurants.

> When they clocked out, servers were obligated to declare their tips:
> they all knew what the minimum was they needed to declare and would
> declare the minimum. Payroll taxes were then paid on this declared
> minimum.

We had them put it on their time cards.

> Now, as to higher-standard restaurants...servers are paid at least
> minimum wage...but everything else is the same.

Not necessarily. I knew of a few restaurants that didn't pay their
servers at all. Tips were so high that they tried this illegal ploy and
got away with it for a while. But when it hit the fan, several people
paid huge fines, had to provide back pay, and a couple owners did time.
As they should.

Pastorio

> Servers, in order to
> clock out, must declare some amount of tips. Payroll taxes are based
> on those amount of tips declared plus the hourly wage.
>
> So...the server is probably not paying taxes on tips not received,
> because servers know to declare the minimum tips needed to clock out -
> and unless they're a horrible server, they should come out ahead.
>
> That being said...Peter, I can only go back to the original post, which
> said that the service was excellent, but the atmosphere was ruined by
> something beyond the server's control. IMO, the server should have
> been tipped...and the note left for the manager, with a follow-up call
> to the owners.
>
> Lisa Ann
>