GOP Tax Policies Target Tips, Overtime to ‘Keep Money in Pocket,’ Says Rep. Byron Donalds

By Theodore Bunker | Wednesday, 25 February 2026 03:36 PM EST

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said on Wednesday that Republicans and President Trump are helping working families “keep money in their pocket” through tax changes targeting tips, overtime pay, small businesses and Social Security recipients.

Appearing on “National Report” after President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, Donalds framed the GOP agenda as a direct response to what he described as economic failures under the previous administration.

“Inflation was rampant” under President Joe Biden, Donalds said. “Our economy was not growing. Wages were down, not secure, border crime in our streets. The world was a mess.”

He added, “There was a lot of work that had to be done very quickly,” and stated Trump “came in on day one with his team and his cabinet, and they’ve been moving incredibly fast, fixing this, doing the smart, common sense things.”

Donalds pointed to environmental policy as an example, noting that the Environmental Protection Agency under administrator Lee Zeldin “have done the work of actually reversing Joe Biden’s CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards,” which he said were “increasing the cost of manufacturing automobiles.”

“When you increase the cost because of liberal policy, it is borne by the American consumer when they go to buy a car,” Donalds explained.

Donalds highlighted tax provisions from Trump’s speech, including “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime,” as well as what Trump described as the largest tax cut for Social Security recipients in American history.

Asked about Democrats who opposed the legislation, Donalds said, “I think the stupidest thing from the Democrats is that they stood up and applauded the fact that they did not want to cut taxes for tip workers in our country.”

He argued that tipped work extends beyond restaurants.

“It’s not just your waitress anymore at a restaurant,” Donalds said. “It is also the people who do DoorDash, who do Uber all across the country.”

“You go into a Jimmy John’s and you go pay at the counter and you know what they want to see,” he added. “Will you add a tip to your bill?”

“The tip share economy is growing in the United States with people who are working hard every single day to make ends meet,” Donalds stated.

Donalds also noted that small businesses would have faced higher taxes without action.

“Small business owners in the United States saw their taxes remain under tax policy last year,” he said. “If Congress did not act with President Trump, taxes on small business owners in the United States, mom and pops, they would have gone up.”

“Democrats voted to increase small business taxes in the United States,” Donalds added.

He contrasted what he called “common sense Republican policy that lets Americans keep money in their pocket” with Democratic efforts “to continue to tax and spend.”

“They talk about the rich and they talk about billionaires,” Donalds said. “That’s a lie.”

“The truth is, they want to raise taxes on everybody and redistribute wealth,” he said. “It has never worked. And Donald Trump’s solutions do work.”