"It is an outrage that waiters, waitresses and other service-sector employees have to pay taxes on the tips they earn. The IRS makes an estimate of how much service-sector workers will make in tips, and taxes them on it even if the taxpayer did not actually earn as much as the IRS' estimate!"
» Source: Ronpaul2008.com

Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, says he would look to the U.S. Constitution for guidance on appropriate taxes.

If elected, Paul would do the following:

• Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and abolish the income tax.
• End the estate tax and payroll taxes, and other taxes not specifically authorized by the Constitution.
• Close the Internal Revenue Service.
• Keep Bush's tax cuts.
• End taxation on tips that service industry employees make. His bill, H.R. 3664, The Tax Free Tips Act of 2007, would exempt tips from federal income and payroll taxes.
• Stop taxation of Social Security benefits. He introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 191), which would eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.

*Rep. Paul's voting record on tax issues:

Voted Topic Date YES Retaining reduced taxes on capital gains and dividends. Dec. 2005 YES Providing tax relief and simplification. Sept. 2004 YES Making permanent an increase in the child tax credit. May 2004 YES Permanently eliminating the marriage penalty. April 2004 YES Making the Bush tax cuts permanent. April 2002 YES $99 billion economic stimulus: capital gains and income tax cuts. Oct. 2001 YES Tax cut package of $958 billion over 10 years. May 2001 YES Eliminating the Estate Tax ("death tax"). April 2001 YES Eliminating the "marriage penalty." July 2000 YES $46 billion in tax cuts for small business. March 2000 N/A Sponsored the Death Tax Elimination Act. March 2001 N/A Rated 89 percent by National Taxpayers Union, indicating a "Taxpayer's Friend" on tax votes. Dec. 2003 N/A Rated 0 percent by the Citizens for Tax Justice, indicating opposition to progressive taxation. Dec. 2006