HotNews.ro talked to restaurant and cafe owners, bartenders and HORECA organizations to find out how they see the 10% tip tax.

The law, which came into force on January 1, stipulates that tips must be credited to the bill and will be taxed at a rate of 10%. Failure to comply with this provision may result in a fine of 2 to 4 thousand lei.

From the first days, this event caused confusion and confusion. For example, the law does not clearly define what happens when a customer wants to leave a tip above 15%, nor does it define what happens to a tip jar on the counter of a cafe or food truck – is it legal or not?

From my own experience, in some restaurants in Bucharest, I did not find a tip on the bill, and the waiters replied that they did not know anything about it. Or that this is a measure that will apply from the following months, which was not true.

I wanted to know the perspective of the event and people in HORECA, so I talked to restaurant owners, bartenders, organizations in the industry and customers. The general picture is quite chaotic.

Waiter’s View: The measure is “unpleasant” because he used to go home with a tip every day, now he’s waiting until the end of the month

Andreia works in a cafe and told me that nothing has changed for her: “I don’t know how it is in restaurants where tips go to the table, I work as a barista, and tips are paid at the bar. So, yes, and the tip stayed in place, cash.”

She also states that she has talked to colleagues and most customers leave their tips in cash. When asked how much they want to keep in their tax receipt, they say 0% but leave the money in cash.

Dragosh is a waiter in a bistro. In no case will he accept cash tips that are not entered in the account in the amounts specified by law 0-15%. He didn’t want to do it because his boss told everyone not to do it until everything was clear because he was afraid of the audits.

Dragos also told me that he still doesn’t know how this will affect his tip income. Some of his colleagues argue, he says, that it might even be a good thing, but if it isn’t, he and other employees will be asking the boss for a raise, which HORECA’s labor crisis will force them to accept, he says.

However, he finds the measure “disgusting” because he used to go home with tips every day and now has to wait for the tax at the end of the month.

Paul often comes out and tells me that he has experienced several of the above mentioned as well as situations where he has left a cash tip and received a receipt for it.

“From what I’ve seen, a few restaurants also accept cash. There were cases when we left a tip, and they brought us a tax receipt, but the amount of the tip was directly on the receipt.”

Cafe owner: “The state taxes the amount that has already been taxed”

MABO Cafe/ Personal archive

Mabo is a specialty cafe with its own bakery. Its representatives say that taxing tips is not at all a solution that corresponds to the specifics of their location.

“I had a negative reaction from both teammates and guests. With us, speed is of the essence, the service is fast-forward, and it’s much easier to get a tip at the bank than to talk to a customer, overcome the cultural barrier of discussing money and issue a tip receipt.

In a coffee shop, this measure does not benefit the people who work there. In addition, people are also not used to leaving tips in cafes, they often order take-out and pay for everything on the spot, and both actions have no direct association with tipping.

That’s where the jar appeared on the counter, which encouraged guests to leave a tip, even if it was 1 lei. In addition, employees no longer take home tips every day, but wait until the end of the month and take 10% less. Moreover, the state taxes an amount that has already been taxed, customers give money that is already taxed by the state in various ways,” says Bohdan Georgescu, owner of Mabo.

He also explained to me that he had not considered boycotting the event, but preferred to focus on finding adaptation solutions. “It is clear that the people who gave this law did not think it through in detail, and we are left to do what we have been doing for a long time: manage in the context that political leaders create and complicate. , who don’t seem to live in the same economic reality as us.”

Restaurant owner: “Now we can take tips and pay by card”

On the other hand, brothers Adrian and George Alexe, owners of the Bucătăria.localfood restaurant, say the measure is welcome because it helps them justify their tip money.

“The most important thing is that now we can take tips and pay by card, it’s a convenient way for both us and the customers, we don’t have to put on unnecessary fireworks anymore.”

They also claim that they have had a positive response among employees and that they will not be affected by the measure.

“On the other hand, customers are a bit confused, they don’t yet know if the tip is included in the final bill or not, or if the rates are set (5%, 10%, 15%). We believe that all the confusion arose because of the slightly ambiguous text of the law, which is interpreted differently in the media.

We try to make everything as simple as possible, we do not include tips in the bill, we allow the client to decide the cost and the method of payment: cash or card. We issue a tax receipt for each tip.”

Adrian and George are the lucky ones and say they have adapted very quickly to the event and have an optimistic outlook:

“Our system allowed us to do that. We agree with the gratuity clause, the 10% tax rate is decent, we believe it will be amortized by the increased revenue from the card payment option.”

Cafe Brașov: “We have situations where we actually find money left by guests on the table, covered with a napkin”

Brasov, Piata Sfatului. PHOTO: Inquam PHOTO / Attila Szabo

The Tavern Guild in Brasov, which includes many establishments in the city center, told us that members of the organization are divided and cannot give a single answer, but it can be noted that there is no table service in sight. new measures related to the method of collecting tips were affected.

Two restaurant owners claim that: “We have no problems and no shame. With the right approach to the table, people consistently leave 15%. Plus, since they come with a card, they’re more generous. At least with us.”

Those who have cafes/bars with counter service claim that: “The tip ran out, it was small, and now, without a jar, there is no tip at all, there are situations where we actually find money left by guests on the table and covered with a napkin .

In the case of two colleagues out of four, I admit, they are ashamed to ask on their behalf – one told me clearly that he can’t do it… so he has 3-9 lei/day from a few tens before the law. We need to make changes in the direction that is already in effect in Hungary, 10 or 13.5 or 15% mandatory service on the receipt and that’s it – 10% for trifles, 15% for serving the table, etc.”

Only one cafe declares that it will not necessarily be affected by the measure: “I always leave 10%.” I have a special POS where the customer chooses how much they want to leave (5-10-15, individual tip or no tip).”

The two owners of the restaurant claim that: “We have no problems and no shame. With the right approach to the table, people consistently leave 15%. Plus, since they come with a card, they’re more generous. At least with us.” Another restaurant owner from Brasov says: “We have customers, some even loyal, who don’t want to tip anymore because they don’t want to give (and other) money to the state.”

The Federation of Patrons: “It is necessary to have internal regulations of each restaurant, which clearly prescribe how tips are given to waiters”

We also asked the perspective of the Federation of the Hospitality Industry of Romania (FPIOR) on how the HORECA industry is affected by the taxation of tips.

Valentin Shoneriu, president of FPIOR, told us that most players in the hospitality industry consider tip regulation to be a good thing.

“However, our colleagues at FPIOR, HORECA owners and administrators, felt that the best way to regulate was to tax the income directly to the recipient of the income. There were simple legal levers for declaring and registering such income directly by the right holder of such income.

But as we work to make this law a reality, we want to make sure that at least things are pretty clear to people in the industry.

There are still many questions and worries. Everyone is trying to figure out what they are supposed to do right now, and I think many of us today are facing various questions and confusion regarding the implementation of this law. We are still in the first month of implementation, we are collecting problems that arise from colleagues in the territory,” says Shoneriu.

I also asked him what steps a restaurant should take to best adapt to this event. But there is still no clear answer to this question:

“There are many things that need to be established and resolved. To give just a few examples, each restaurant must establish internal rules that clearly define how waiters are tipped, restaurant managers have new commissions to pay, bills must be changed to include tipping information, and much more,” Schoneriu answers.

When asked if he would be tempted to seek a change or repeal of the measure, the FPIOR president said he would not seek a repeal under any circumstances.

“In itself, this is a beneficial measure because it provides an opportunity to earn additional income for our employees (now tips can also be paid by card), but we will most likely require changes to be made to it so that the law does not create too many problems . and unnecessary red tape for administrators from our industry.”

• Read also: Taxation of tips: what is the tax regime