Harris says she supports removing taxes on tips, like Trump, as they woo service workers
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Ms Harris also said she would also work to drive down consumer prices.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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LAS VEGAS - US Vice-President Kamala Harris told supporters in Nevada on Aug 10 that she supported eliminating taxes on tips, taking a similar position to her rival Donald Trump in an effort to win over service workers, an important constituency in the state.
Ms Harris and her Democratic running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, wrapped up a multi-day tour of battleground states on Aug 10 with their stop in Nevada, a western state that could play a pivotal role in the Nov 5 presidential election.
“It is my promise to everyone here when I am president we will continue to fight for working families, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” Ms Harris said.
She said she would work to drive down consumer prices, vowing to “take on big corporations that engage in illegal price-gouging” and corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working families, as well as going after big pharmaceutical companies to drive drug prices lower.
Trump, who told a rally in Las Vegas in June that he would seek to end taxation of income from tips, accused Ms Harris of stealing his policy proposal.
“Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING... just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy,” Trump said on his Truth Social app. “The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes!”
Ms Harris, who officially became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee last week, has been campaigning with Mr Walz
To become president, a candidate need not win the national popular vote but must win 270 electoral votes. Each state has a number of electoral votes based on its population, making the swing states especially important.
She will travel to San Francisco in her home state of California on Aug 11, where she is due to attend a fundraiser with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Nearly 700 people are expected at the event, which is expected to raise more than $12 million (S$15.9 million), a campaign official said.
Ms Harris and Mr Walz, whose selection she announced in Pennsylvania - another swing state - on Aug 6 are seeking to maintain and build on the momentum that she has generated since President Joe Biden stepped aside as the party’s standard-bearer in July.
Ms Harris was leading Trump, the Republican former president, by 4 percentage points
The Trump campaign released a memo from its chief pollster, Mr Tony Fabrizio, pushing back against the results. “Once again, we see a series of public surveys released with the clear intent and purpose of depressing support for President Trump,” Mr Fabrizio said.
Nationally, Ms Harris was ahead of Trump by 5 percentage points, 42 per cent to 37 per cent, in an Ipsos poll published on Aug 8, widening her lead from a July 22-23 Reuters/Ipsos survey, which found her up 37 per cent to 34 per cent.
Ms Harris has raised hundreds of millions of dollars
The Harris campaign said more than 12,000 people were in the arena in Las Vegas on Aug 10 and the police had turned away roughly 4,000 more because people in line were becoming ill in the Nevada heat, with temperatures reaching 40 deg C on Aug 10.
Ms Harris has spent the week drawing contrasts with Trump. On Aug 10, before leaving Arizona, she said she disagreed strongly with the former president about the Federal Reserve.
She said she would not interfere with the independent Fed if elected president, in sharp contrast to Trump, who on Aug 8 said presidents should have a say over decisions made by the central bank. REUTERS
