The U.S. Senate has passed a new bill that would offer a tax deduction on tips worth up to $25,000.

This bill, if enacted into law, would also extend to business tax credits for payroll taxes on tips in beauty and spa services.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, is pushing the proposal – which passed unanimously – an outcome considered rare for substantive legislation.

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There are stipulations in the new bill: an employee with compensation exceeding $160,000 in the prior tax year would not be eligible to claim the new tax deduction for tips.

The bill is limited to cash tips received by occupations that are customarily tipped. 

"Tipped occupations" are jobs where tips are common in the U.S., such as waiters, waitresses and professionals providing beauty services like barbering, hair care, nail care, esthetics, body and spa treatments.

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The Budget Lab at Yale say they estimate there will be approximately 4 million workers in tipped occupations in 2023. 

They must also be reported by the employee to the employer for withholding payroll taxes. Under the current law, only tips exceeding $20 per month are required to be reported.

According to the report by Budget Lab, a non-tipped worker in 2023 was a minimum of approximately 10 years older than the typical tipped worker.  They also say one-third of the number of tipped workers were below 25, with 13% being teenagers.

This new bill, if passed, would cost $110 billion in federal revenues over 10 years, according to estimates by the center-right Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, pointed out during her floor speech that this bill was one of President Donald Trump's key campaign promises.

"I am not afraid to embrace a good idea, wherever it comes from. So I agreed we need to get this done," she said.

The passing of this bill through the Senate occurs as congressional Republicans attempt to seek advancement of a massive tax cut and spending package that will create a tax break on tips for the next four years.

The next step is the House of Representatives before it becomes law.

• UK fans of Labubu won't be able to snag the toy in stores for a bit.
• The toy's producer, Pop Mart, said it would temporarily pause physical Labubu sales in the UK.
• It said this was to "ensure the safety" of people after long lines formed outside UK Pop Mart stores.

Labubu fans in the UK have gone so wild for the toy, its seller has temporarily paused in-store sales.

Pop Mart, the Chinese toymaker behind the viral $85 doll that's taking the world by storm, announced the pause in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

"Due to the increasing demand for our beloved Labubus, we've seen a significant rise in customer turnout on restock days — with long queues forming outside our stores and Roboshops," the toymaker said.

Pop Mart sells products in 16 locations across the UK, including the vending machine-style Roboshops.

"To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone, we will temporarily pause all in-store and roboshop sales of THE MONSTERS plush toys until further notice," Pop Mart added.

Pop Mart said online drops of the toy would continue as usual.

At least a dozen videos on TikTok of Pop Mart's stores in the UK show snaking lines forming at its entrances ahead of product drops.

A video of the Pop Mart in Bullring, a shopping mall in Birmingham, showed a line stretching around the building. Barricades were set up at the start of the line to organize the queue.

This comes as Labubu fever spreads from Asia to the West, with fans queuing for hours to get their hands on the furry plushie with serrated teeth.

Labubus, which come in various designs, are sold in blind boxes, or toys that are not labeled. Customers do not know which design they are getting upon purchase.

Pop Mart staff in Singapore told BI in November that stores are restocked with a few hundred figurines twice a week, but they sell out in minutes.

Labubu and The Monsters toy line was a major cash cow for Pop Mart in 2024. According to the company's annual report, its sales totaled 3.04 billion yuan, or about $426 million, which was 23% of Pop Mart's total revenue.

Representatives for Pop Mart did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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Washington, D.C. is once again home to the country's best city park system, a new ranking finds.

Why it matters: City parks serve as community meeting spots and civic spaces, offer room for exercise and fresh air, and can draw in new residents — but they require investment, attention and protection.

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Driving the news: That's according to the 2025 ParkScore index, an annual ranking from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a pro-park nonprofit.

• The report ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities' park systems relative to one another based on five categories: acreage, access, amenities, investment and equity.

What they found: D.C. took home top honors with a total of 85.5 points, thanks in part to big access and investment scores.

• Irvine, California, came in second, while Minneapolis ranked third.
• St. Paul, Minnesota, sits in fifth — meaning the Twin Cities remain a solid option for park lovers.

Zoom in: Irvine jumped from fourth place in 2024 to second this year — "propelled," TPL says, by "continued progress on its 'Great Park,' one of the most ambitious public park projects in the country."

• Denver's now in the top 10 (up from 13th last year), while Cincinnati moved from eighth to fourth.

Stunning stats: Among the cities analyzed, $12.2 billion was invested in park and recreation systems in 2024, while 76% of residents now live within a 10-minute walk of a park.

• Those are both records since TPL started tracking such figures in 2007 and 2012, respectively.

What's next: Some of the money cities are spending on public parks lately is tied to pandemic-era federal infrastructure funding, which won't last forever.

• "It'll be interesting to see over the next couple of years, if there aren't replacement funds ... what that will mean for cities and communities that are really wanting to invest in parks," TPL president and CEO Carrie Besnette Hauser tells Axios.

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