Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (LA-04) had a few choice words for the latest move by several blue state leaders who have blocked a huge promise President Donald Trump made to workers to cut taxes on tips and overtime.
In a post on X on Monday, Johnson reacted to a New York Post piece about how Democrat-run states like California, New York, and Illinois have declined to give hardworking Americans a state-level tax break after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (aka the “Working Families Tax Cut Act") exempted federal taxes on overtime pay and tipped wages. The provision takes effect January 1.
Most working Americans can anticipate the largest tax refunds in HISTORY this year — but, incredibly, Democrat-controlled states are REFUSING to allow President Trump’s popular No Tax on Tips or Overtime!
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 29, 2025
IT’S OUTRAGEOUS.
Once again — as they pay lip service to an… https://t.co/pFfO7Gj0Fx
READ MORE: Watch: Sec Bessent Masterfully Dispatches Dems on Senate Committee Over OBBB, 2024: 'Your Side Lost'
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“Most working Americans can anticipate the largest tax refunds in history this year — but, incredibly, Democrat-controlled states are refusing to allow President Trump’s popular No Tax on Tips or Overtime!” Johnson wrote.
“IT’S OUTRAGEOUS,” he added in all caps. “Once again — as they pay lip service to an ‘affordability’ issue they caused — when Republicans give them the opportunity to actually make life more affordable, Democrats turn their backs on the working class.”
Here are the blue states ‘blocking’ Trump’s popular tax cut provisions https://t.co/AGkR4N5eQQ pic.twitter.com/6vpMTzTieU
— New York Post (@nypost) December 26, 2025
A Reuters piece pointed out that each state has basically three options. They are as follows:
- Full conformity: Accept the federal changes, letting tips and overtime be untaxed at the state level.
- Selective (partial) conformity: Adopt some parts of OBBBA but not others (e.g., allow the tip deduction but not overtime).
- Non-conformity/decoupling: Reject the new federal deductions entirely, keeping tips and overtime fully taxable for state purposes.
A handful of states already align with the federal tax code. Those are Iowa, South Carolina, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon, Reuters noted.
The states that have already said yes or are open to at least part of the proposal include Arizona, North Carolina, and New Jersey.
Many other states, both blue and red, have yet to take up the issue of what qualifies as taxable income in their states.
Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, explained that “Some states start with federal taxable income, so most of the new deductions flow through automatically unless lawmakers opt out.”
“Many more states—blue and red—start with adjusted gross income or run their own tax system, which means they don’t pick up these new deductions unless they affirmatively pass a bill to do so,” he added.
Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul is already getting slammed by workers over not giving New Yorkers Trump’s tax promise.
Rion Gallagher, 30, a bartender at The Blasket, an Irish pub in Midtown, told the Post simply, “Screw her.”
“If we weren’t taxed on our tips, we’d be able to save more, we’d enjoy life a little more, maybe we wouldn’t have to pick up that extra shift,” she added.
Zoe Kalodimos, 30, a waitress at Embassy Diner in Bethpage, Long Island, told the outlet, “For [Hochul] to do that is just, it’s disheartening. It’s upsetting.”
“It’s like losing money,” she added of losing about $1,000 a month on taxes from tips. “So it’s hard, especially when everything’s so expensive in life right now. That’s my livelihood, that’s how I eat and feed my family.”
Hochul appears to at least recognize this could be a problem, and a spokesperson for her told the Post that she’s open to the idea.
“We will continue finding ways to put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets and will evaluate federal changes in the context of the upcoming budget, just like red and blue states across the country,” a spokesperson said.
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