Franchisee Jesse Kaiser says new tax plan raised tipped workers' take-home pay and funded expansion

Jesse Kaiser, a multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee based in St. Louis, testified that a recent tax plan has increased the take-home pay of his tipped employees and helped finance his company’s expansion.

Kaiser, speaking in testimony, said he employs about 400 tipped workers and credited provisions he described as a “no tax on tips” policy and the FICA tip credit for placing more money into workers’ pay. “The no tax on tips policy has put directly into their paychecks more money,” he said.

He framed owner-side changes as complementary: “On the ownership side, the FICA tip credit creates meaningful savings. For us, that’s growth capital,” Kaiser said, adding that bonus depreciation helps “reinvest aggressively by reducing the upfront tax burden.”

Kaiser said those savings support expansion: “It’s enough to support a building a new salon each year. And every 1 of those that we create, there's about 10 full time jobs with the employees earning $65,000 or more a year,” he said, presenting the job and wage figures as his observation from operating multiple locations.

Kaiser concluded by contrasting the effects with theory: “This isn't theoretical. It's higher take home pay for my employees and real growth and expansion for on my end,” according to his testimony.

The testimony did not specify the exact statute, bill name, or jurisdiction for the tax changes Kaiser was referring to, and the employment and wage figures were presented by Kaiser as his characterization rather than as committee-verified data.