Rick Harrison says Trump tax policies deliver big refunds for Las Vegas workers

Rick Harrison told Fox News that workers at his Las Vegas businesses are seeing large increases in their tax refunds because of President Donald Trump’s small-business tax policies.

Appearing on “Saturday in America,” Harrison told host Kayleigh McEnany that measures such as tax-free overtime and equipment write-offs have lifted Nevada’s economy.

“I’ve had at least 10 employees tell me that their tax return was kind of, you know, they considered it astronomical. It was, like, twice what it normally is, and it just helps out,” Harrison said.

Harrison runs the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop featured on the television series “Pawn Stars” and also owns a restaurant and bar in Las Vegas. He employs about 80 people across those businesses.

He said full equipment depreciation, tax-free overtime and the exemption on the first $25,000 in tips have raised take-home pay for workers and encouraged owners to spend more.

“The full depreciation on equipment is a godsend to so many businesses,” Harrison said.

He called the “No Tax on Tips” policy a major benefit for service workers in Las Vegas.

“There’s no tax on the first $25,000 in tips, which is really, really huge,” Harrison said. “There is a lot of single moms and things like that that are service workers, and that just — it changes everything — the no tax on tips, especially in Nevada.”

Harrison spoke at a White House small-business summit on May 4 and contrasted the current administration with the previous one.

“The last guy in office, all we heard was that we were the evil people, we were the bad people, everything else like that, we don’t pay our fair share,” Harrison said.

The comments come as Las Vegas faces declining tourism. Harrison said earlier that his store posted record months in January and February despite the slowdown.

“You give customers what they want, and they return,” he said in an April interview. “A lot of the hotels on the Strip… they’re not hospitals where you have to go to them. There’s choices out there, so they’re changing their pricing around.”

“I don’t have crazy prices, and that’s what [some of the other] casinos need to do,” he added. “Some casinos have always been doing that, and that is why they are doing well.”