And the reason why

""" YES! We are taxed on our tips. Actually, we are taxed on our sales rather than our actual tips.

Let me explain. On a busy lunch shift at a diner you might sell $1000 worth of food and beverages. That's your total sales.

Out of that $1000, the government will take 8% out of our paychecks. So come payday my check will be $80 less than my minimum wage for that day. They are assuming that we will earn on average about 15–20% in tips.

We also share the tips with the rest of the people that work in the restaurant. For example, 20% of our total tips to the bussers, 10% to the bar, 10% to the runner. So if we get stiffed we actually lose money and are paying the rest of the team out of our own pockets.""