On feet and tips – Andrew Duehren in NYT:

‘President Trump’s promise for “no tax on tips” has raised important practical questions for the Internal Revenue Service. What is the exact definition of a tip? Who typically receives them? Are photos of bare feet a type of pornography?’

(…)

‘On the list of nearly 70 eligible occupations, detailed in a proposed regulation in September, were “digital content creators,” “entertainers and performers” and “dancers,” categories that, at first blush, seemed as if they could be a boon for America’s sex workers. But the Trump administration also added that tips for prostitution or “pornographic activity” would not be entitled to the new tax break.
The exclusion came as a disappointment to people who post sexually explicit, or even just sensual, content on platforms like OnlyFans where users can leave tips. Performers in the adult entertainment industry already face difficulties accessing basic financial services.’

(…)

‘Indeed, defining even decidedly decorous terms can be involved. Consider the I.R.S. definition of a citrus grove, itself vaguely prurient: “one or more trees of the rue family, often thorny and bearing large fruit with hard, usually thick peel and pulpy flesh, such as the orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, citron, tangelo, and tangerine.”’

(…)

‘Macy Hilt makes what she describes as “fully explicit pornographic content” on her OnlyFans page. The 24-year-old said she makes roughly $2 million a year, with about 5 percent of her earnings coming in the form of tips. While that means she makes too much money for the tips deduction, she still finds the exclusion of earnings from “pornographic activity” discriminatory and, in all likelihood, unenforceable.
“I’ve made a lot of money, and a lot of tips, based off just a foot picture,” she said.’

Read the article here.

Authors should be tipped ad well, better for the reader, better for the author.
Some authors might be willing to cheer up their readers with a foot picture.