Amazon closing AmazonSmile

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux

Income as reported to management of the eating establishment.
I _think_ that there were spot checks, similar to IRS compliance checks.

Due to inflation:
* US$40/hour in 1990 would be the equivalent of US$90/hour today.
* US$40/hour in 1980 would be the equivalent of US$144/hour today.

How many waitpeople do you know, that can consistently pull in more than US$500 per 8 hour shift in tips?

IHOP is claiming that its waitstaff earn, between wages and tips, US$800 per week.

In 2021, the IRS claimed that the average tipped employee earned US$25,000 per year.

They don't claim a lot of their tips depending on the setup with the restaurant. Some have all tips shared, some have collected .Still, with so many only use cards now, it'd harder to have the numbers so varied. My mom was a GM for three Denny's locations and she always said the servers who worked a few days, especially weekends, did pull in a few hundred a day on busy days, so 800 a week if they work enough days isn't impossible.

[theducks]

$40 / Hr Best I ever did as a Technician was 30 and no bennies.
I had over 26 weeks of schooling just for Electronics plus lots of OJT.

No wonder they shun straight wages.

[John F]

From what I've heard, when you tip the waitstaff (in the U.S., in a restaurant), it doesn't necessarily go to one person, some goes the waitperson, some to the bartender, some to the busperson.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by John F

From what I've heard, when you tip the waitstaff (in the U.S., in a restaurant), it doesn't necessarily go to one person, some goes the waitperson, some to the bartender, some to the busperson.

That is illegal and grounds for prosecution with state or US labor boards if they are shared with non-tip employees.

US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FINDS PITTSBURGH RESTAURANT ILLEGALLY SHARED WORKERS’ TIPS WITH MANAGERS, OTHER NON-TIPPED EMPLOYEES, RECOVERS $41K FOR 12 WORKERS

Apache

[John F]

Originally Posted by Apache

That is illegal and grounds for prosecution with state or US labor boards if they are shared with non-tip employees.

Apache

Sure, but I'm gussing that most bartenders receive tips legally, and (some) buspeople can also receive tips.

Doing a quick google:

Bussers can earn a range of salaries depending on their location and how much they earn in tips. They are often considered tipped employees, which makes them subject to the subminimum wage.

So how does that work in the U.S.: I'm seeing tipjars just about everywhere (McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, ...) and yet I thought that all those places paid minimum wage.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Apache

That is illegal and grounds for prosecution with state or US labor boards if they are shared with non-tip employees.

Apache

Also, IANAL, but I'm guessing that the business/management collected the tips and distributed them, vs an individual who was elligable for tips.

[John F]

And next time, instead of tipping, hand it to the person and say "this is a gift", that way they won't have to pay federal income tax.*

*and probably not local income taxes, and IANAA and IANATA, for the USA

[Apache]

You legally have to pay taxes on gifts in the US. Also gambling earnings and on merchandise won through contests. The IRS also expects you to pay taxes on any illegal activities. Much to the chagrin of Al Capone.
Apache

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by Apache

You legally have to pay taxes on gifts in the US. Also gambling earnings and on merchandise won through contests. The IRS also expects you to pay taxes on any illegal activities. Much to the chagrin of Al Capone.
Apache

Also you cannot write off gambling losses on your taxes

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

Also you cannot write off gambling losses on your taxes

I was under the impression that a professional gambler could from a comment at one of the poker tournaments I watched.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Apache

You legally have to pay taxes on gifts in the US. Also gambling earnings and on merchandise won through contests. The IRS also expects you to pay taxes on any illegal activities. Much to the chagrin of Al Capone.
Apache

I was thinking of the gifting rule exception:

The general rule is that any gift is a taxable gift. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts. Gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year.

And the current annual exclusion is $17,000. And I thought that the receiver didn't have to pay the tax (if any).

Edit: and I forgot a link: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small...-on-gift-taxes

And my understanding is that more then $17,000 can be gifted at once, the gifter just needs to report it on a tax form, and doesn't pay any gift tax until the lifetime limit of $12,000,000 is exceeded (as of 2023).

It seems like a very favorable (to the givers/receivers) tax law.

[willaful]

From what I've read, Amazon originally started the Smile program because they wanted people to go directly to them instead of googling first. It was cheaper to give away a bit of money than to pay the google fees. I guess they have enough direct purchases now they feel they no longer need it.

Which all makes that ridiculous excuse even more offensive.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by theducks

$40 / Hr Best I ever did as a Technician was 30 and no bennies.
I had over 26 weeks of schooling just for Electronics plus lots of OJT.

No wonder they shun straight wages.

Assuming IRS figures are correct, US$40/hour is more than one standard deviation above the norm, for (2021) waitstaff.
In the mid-eighties, it would have been at least three standard deviations more than the average wait-person would have earned.

In 1990, US$40/hour was more than 70% of the general population made.

Waitstaff _think_ that they can earn more than US$40/hour, because there are superstar extraordinaires, like a friend of mine that maintained a rolling 7 day average of US$1,000/shift, working at Waffle House.

When she worked at an establishment that served alcohol, on a person's third visit, if they had ordered the same drink on the two prior occasions, she'd bring that drink to them, when taking their order, usually setting it down with a "here is your usual", to customers that were as oft as not, stunned to learn that they had a usual beverage.

[Apache]

My sister-in-law used to work at Musso and Frank in the late '70s and early '80s. She made an ungodly amount of money during her years there.
Apache

[DuckieTigger]

It officially happened to me. My bookmark to Amazon Smile redirects to the regular Amazon Prime site.
Went to

smile.amazon.com

ended up in

https://www.amazon.com/?redirectFromSmile=1