Dear Vi,

Is it true that waiters must pay tax on 8% of their sales even when they aren't tipped that much?

Jerry Hurwitz, Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Dear Jerry,

Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. Waiters, according to the IRS, can expect to make 8% in tips on their sales. However, the IRS also expects that a waiter who makes say 10% will report on all of their tips rather than on only 8%. Even worse, the IRS expects you to report that you made 8% even if you actually made much less. Legally, then, you should report all of your tips: the 8% figure is simple used as a kind of minimum guide by the IRS.

The figure, not based on any scientific investigation, was determined in 1983 when congress met and decided that waiters much report a certain amount or else be subject to an investigation. According to attorney Rick Berman, of the American Beverage Institute, who was once a busboy, waiter, and bartender, and who attended the meeting, "It was a finger in the wind."