> t's not quite the same thing if you take into account taxes. If tips are cash only and missing from the bill, the worker gets more money.
Tips, cash or not, are subject to taxes usually where they exist enough to have been considered in tax policy. (E. g., in the US they are subject to both income and payroll taxes.)
If you mean “it is easier to commit tax fraud/evasion with cash tips than other compensation”, that’s probably true, OTOH, tax authorities tend to also be aware of this and scrutinize people working in traditionally tipped fields, especially if they repirt less tips than are “expected”, for this exact reason.
