Overview

• McDonald's left the National Restaurant Association over disputes tied to the tipped‑wage model, according to analyst reports cited by Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance.
• CEO Chris Kempczinski says restaurants that rely on tips shift labor costs to customers and gain an extra edge from the new no‑tax‑on‑tips policy, which does not apply at McDonald's.
• Kempczinski urged a single minimum wage for tipped and non‑tipped workers and said the company is open to talks on raising the federal minimum wage.
• President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill created a tip‑related federal tax deduction of up to $25,000, though research shows many tipped workers owe no federal income tax and may see limited benefit.
• The NRA has backed policies favorable to tip‑reliant restaurants, and McDonald’s break is seen as a setback for the trade group as debates over wages and tipping intensify.