diff --git a/libs/pubsub/example_test.go b/libs/pubsub/example_test.go
index 888368b9e..a43696266 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/example_test.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/example_test.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ func TestExample(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	subscription, err := s.Subscribe(ctx, "example-client", query.MustParse("abci.account.name='John'"))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Tombstone", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"abci.account.name": "John"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Tombstone", map[string]string{"abci.account.name": "John"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assertReceive(t, "Tombstone", subscription.Out())
 }
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/pubsub.go b/libs/pubsub/pubsub.go
index d5318c464..fd4a26936 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/pubsub.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/pubsub.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ var (
 
 // Query defines an interface for a query to be used for subscribing.
 type Query interface {
-	Matches(tags TagMap) bool
+	Matches(tags map[string]string) bool
 	String() string
 }
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ type cmd struct {
 
 	// publish
 	msg  interface{}
-	tags TagMap
+	tags map[string]string
 }
 
 // Server allows clients to subscribe/unsubscribe for messages, publishing
@@ -131,10 +131,10 @@ func (s *Server) BufferCapacity() int {
 	return s.cmdsCap
 }
 
-// Subscribe creates a subscription for the given client. 
-// 
+// Subscribe creates a subscription for the given client.
+//
 // An error will be returned to the caller if the context is canceled or if
-// subscription already exist for pair clientID and query. 
+// subscription already exist for pair clientID and query.
 //
 // outCapacity can be used to set a capacity for Subscription#Out channel (1 by
 // default). Panics if outCapacity is less than or equal to zero. If you want
@@ -245,13 +245,13 @@ func (s *Server) UnsubscribeAll(ctx context.Context, clientID string) error {
 // Publish publishes the given message. An error will be returned to the caller
 // if the context is canceled.
 func (s *Server) Publish(ctx context.Context, msg interface{}) error {
-	return s.PublishWithTags(ctx, msg, NewTagMap(make(map[string]string)))
+	return s.PublishWithTags(ctx, msg, make(map[string]string))
 }
 
 // PublishWithTags publishes the given message with the set of tags. The set is
 // matched with clients queries. If there is a match, the message is sent to
 // the client.
-func (s *Server) PublishWithTags(ctx context.Context, msg interface{}, tags TagMap) error {
+func (s *Server) PublishWithTags(ctx context.Context, msg interface{}, tags map[string]string) error {
 	select {
 	case s.cmds <- cmd{op: pub, msg: msg, tags: tags}:
 		return nil
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ func (state *state) removeAll(reason error) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (state *state) send(msg interface{}, tags TagMap) {
+func (state *state) send(msg interface{}, tags map[string]string) {
 	for qStr, clientSubscriptions := range state.subscriptions {
 		q := state.queries[qStr].q
 		if q.Matches(tags) {
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/pubsub_test.go b/libs/pubsub/pubsub_test.go
index 973d6ba06..c72e56983 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/pubsub_test.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/pubsub_test.go
@@ -81,20 +81,20 @@ func TestDifferentClients(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	subscription1, err := s.Subscribe(ctx, "client-1", query.MustParse("tm.events.type='NewBlock'"))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Iceman", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Iceman", map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assertReceive(t, "Iceman", subscription1.Out())
 
 	subscription2, err := s.Subscribe(ctx, "client-2", query.MustParse("tm.events.type='NewBlock' AND abci.account.name='Igor'"))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Ultimo", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock", "abci.account.name": "Igor"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Ultimo", map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock", "abci.account.name": "Igor"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assertReceive(t, "Ultimo", subscription1.Out())
 	assertReceive(t, "Ultimo", subscription2.Out())
 
 	subscription3, err := s.Subscribe(ctx, "client-3", query.MustParse("tm.events.type='NewRoundStep' AND abci.account.name='Igor' AND abci.invoice.number = 10"))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Valeria Richards", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewRoundStep"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Valeria Richards", map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewRoundStep"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Zero(t, len(subscription3.Out()))
 }
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ func TestClientSubscribesTwice(t *testing.T) {
 
 	subscription1, err := s.Subscribe(ctx, clientID, q)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Goblin Queen", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Goblin Queen", map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assertReceive(t, "Goblin Queen", subscription1.Out())
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ func TestClientSubscribesTwice(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Error(t, err)
 	require.Nil(t, subscription2)
 
-	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Spider-Man", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"}))
+	err = s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Spider-Man", map[string]string{"tm.events.type": "NewBlock"})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assertReceive(t, "Spider-Man", subscription1.Out())
 }
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ func benchmarkNClients(n int, b *testing.B) {
 	b.ReportAllocs()
 	b.ResetTimer()
 	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
-		s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Gamora", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"abci.Account.Owner": "Ivan", "abci.Invoices.Number": string(i)}))
+		s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Gamora", map[string]string{"abci.Account.Owner": "Ivan", "abci.Invoices.Number": string(i)})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ func benchmarkNClientsOneQuery(n int, b *testing.B) {
 	b.ReportAllocs()
 	b.ResetTimer()
 	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
-		s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Gamora", pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"abci.Account.Owner": "Ivan", "abci.Invoices.Number": "1"}))
+		s.PublishWithTags(ctx, "Gamora", map[string]string{"abci.Account.Owner": "Ivan", "abci.Invoices.Number": "1"})
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/query/empty.go b/libs/pubsub/query/empty.go
index 17d7acefa..83271f047 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/query/empty.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/query/empty.go
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 package query
 
-import "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub"
-
 // Empty query matches any set of tags.
 type Empty struct {
 }
 
 // Matches always returns true.
-func (Empty) Matches(tags pubsub.TagMap) bool {
+func (Empty) Matches(tags map[string]string) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/query/empty_test.go b/libs/pubsub/query/empty_test.go
index 6183b6bd4..141fb9515 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/query/empty_test.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/query/empty_test.go
@@ -5,14 +5,13 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 
-	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub/query"
 )
 
 func TestEmptyQueryMatchesAnything(t *testing.T) {
 	q := query.Empty{}
-	assert.True(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{})))
-	assert.True(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"Asher": "Roth"})))
-	assert.True(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"Route": "66"})))
-	assert.True(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{"Route": "66", "Billy": "Blue"})))
+	assert.True(t, q.Matches(map[string]string{}))
+	assert.True(t, q.Matches(map[string]string{"Asher": "Roth"}))
+	assert.True(t, q.Matches(map[string]string{"Route": "66"}))
+	assert.True(t, q.Matches(map[string]string{"Route": "66", "Billy": "Blue"}))
 }
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/query/query.go b/libs/pubsub/query/query.go
index ec187486e..189110a3e 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/query/query.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/query/query.go
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
-
-	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub"
 )
 
 // Query holds the query string and the query parser.
@@ -154,8 +152,8 @@ func (q *Query) Conditions() []Condition {
 //
 // For example, query "name=John" matches tags = {"name": "John"}. More
 // examples could be found in parser_test.go and query_test.go.
-func (q *Query) Matches(tags pubsub.TagMap) bool {
-	if tags.Len() == 0 {
+func (q *Query) Matches(tags map[string]string) bool {
+	if len(tags) == 0 {
 		return false
 	}
 
@@ -240,9 +238,9 @@ func (q *Query) Matches(tags pubsub.TagMap) bool {
 // value from it to the operand using the operator.
 //
 // "tx.gas", "=", "7", { "tx.gas": 7, "tx.ID": "4AE393495334" }
-func match(tag string, op Operator, operand reflect.Value, tags pubsub.TagMap) bool {
+func match(tag string, op Operator, operand reflect.Value, tags map[string]string) bool {
 	// look up the tag from the query in tags
-	value, ok := tags.Get(tag)
+	value, ok := tags[tag]
 	if !ok {
 		return false
 	}
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/query/query_test.go b/libs/pubsub/query/query_test.go
index d1810f466..a3d83b259 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/query/query_test.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/query/query_test.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 
-	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub/query"
 )
 
@@ -53,9 +52,9 @@ func TestMatches(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 
 		if tc.matches {
-			assert.True(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(tc.tags)), "Query '%s' should match %v", tc.s, tc.tags)
+			assert.True(t, q.Matches(tc.tags), "Query '%s' should match %v", tc.s, tc.tags)
 		} else {
-			assert.False(t, q.Matches(pubsub.NewTagMap(tc.tags)), "Query '%s' should not match %v", tc.s, tc.tags)
+			assert.False(t, q.Matches(tc.tags), "Query '%s' should not match %v", tc.s, tc.tags)
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/subscription.go b/libs/pubsub/subscription.go
index e852e4906..e86693245 100644
--- a/libs/pubsub/subscription.go
+++ b/libs/pubsub/subscription.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (s *Subscription) Err() error {
 // Message glues data and tags together.
 type Message struct {
 	data interface{}
-	tags TagMap
+	tags map[string]string
 }
 
 // Data returns an original data published.
@@ -65,6 +65,6 @@ func (msg Message) Data() interface{} {
 }
 
 // Tags returns tags, which matched the client's query.
-func (msg Message) Tags() TagMap {
+func (msg Message) Tags() map[string]string {
 	return msg.tags
 }
diff --git a/libs/pubsub/tag_map.go b/libs/pubsub/tag_map.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 3aa229aca..000000000
--- a/libs/pubsub/tag_map.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-package pubsub
-
-// TagMap is used to associate tags to a message.
-// They can be queried by subscribers to choose messages they will received.
-type TagMap interface {
-	// Get returns the value for a key, or nil if no value is present.
-	// The ok result indicates whether value was found in the tags.
-	Get(key string) (value string, ok bool)
-	// Len returns the number of tags.
-	Len() int
-}
-
-type tagMap map[string]string
-
-var _ TagMap = (*tagMap)(nil)
-
-// NewTagMap constructs a new immutable tag set from a map.
-func NewTagMap(data map[string]string) TagMap {
-	return tagMap(data)
-}
-
-// Get returns the value for a key, or nil if no value is present.
-// The ok result indicates whether value was found in the tags.
-func (ts tagMap) Get(key string) (value string, ok bool) {
-	value, ok = ts[key]
-	return
-}
-
-// Len returns the number of tags.
-func (ts tagMap) Len() int {
-	return len(ts)
-}
diff --git a/rpc/client/httpclient.go b/rpc/client/httpclient.go
index 1a1d88c47..51c1d2e21 100644
--- a/rpc/client/httpclient.go
+++ b/rpc/client/httpclient.go
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ type WSEvents struct {
 	ws       *rpcclient.WSClient
 
 	mtx           sync.RWMutex
-	subscriptions map[string]chan<- interface{}
+	subscriptions map[string]chan<- EventMessage
 }
 
 func newWSEvents(cdc *amino.Codec, remote, endpoint string) *WSEvents {
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ func newWSEvents(cdc *amino.Codec, remote, endpoint string) *WSEvents {
 		cdc:           cdc,
 		endpoint:      endpoint,
 		remote:        remote,
-		subscriptions: make(map[string]chan<- interface{}),
+		subscriptions: make(map[string]chan<- EventMessage),
 	}
 
 	wsEvents.BaseService = *cmn.NewBaseService(nil, "WSEvents", wsEvents)
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func (w *WSEvents) UnsubscribeAll(ctx context.Context, subscriber string) error
 	for _, ch := range w.subscriptions {
 		close(ch)
 	}
-	w.subscriptions = make(map[string]chan<- interface{})
+	w.subscriptions = make(map[string]chan<- EventMessage)
 	w.mtx.Unlock()
 
 	return nil
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ func (w *WSEvents) eventListener() {
 			// Unsubscribe/UnsubscribeAll.
 			w.mtx.RLock()
 			if ch, ok := w.subscriptions[result.Query]; ok {
-				ch <- result.Data
+				ch <- EventMessage{result.Data, result.Tags}
 			}
 			w.mtx.RUnlock()
 		case <-w.Quit():
diff --git a/rpc/client/interface.go b/rpc/client/interface.go
index 7477225e9..eeb10d2b9 100644
--- a/rpc/client/interface.go
+++ b/rpc/client/interface.go
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ implementation.
 */
 
 import (
+	"context"
+
 	cmn "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/common"
+	tmpubsub "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub"
 	ctypes "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/rpc/core/types"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
 )
@@ -91,7 +94,9 @@ type NetworkClient interface {
 // EventsClient is reactive, you can subscribe to any message, given the proper
 // string. see tendermint/types/events.go
 type EventsClient interface {
-	types.EventBusSubscriber
+	Subscribe(ctx context.Context, subscriber string, query tmpubsub.Query, out chan<- interface{}) error
+	Unsubscribe(ctx context.Context, subscriber string, query tmpubsub.Query) error
+	UnsubscribeAll(ctx context.Context, subscriber string) error
 }
 
 // MempoolClient shows us data about current mempool state.
diff --git a/rpc/client/types.go b/rpc/client/types.go
index 6a23fa450..b2c73479b 100644
--- a/rpc/client/types.go
+++ b/rpc/client/types.go
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package client
 
+import "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
+
 // ABCIQueryOptions can be used to provide options for ABCIQuery call other
 // than the DefaultABCIQueryOptions.
 type ABCIQueryOptions struct {
@@ -9,3 +11,9 @@ type ABCIQueryOptions struct {
 
 // DefaultABCIQueryOptions are latest height (0) and prove false.
 var DefaultABCIQueryOptions = ABCIQueryOptions{Height: 0, Prove: false}
+
+// EventMessage combines event data and tags.
+type EventMessage struct {
+	Data types.TMEventData
+	Tags map[string]string
+}
diff --git a/rpc/core/events.go b/rpc/core/events.go
index 2ab44d386..8b4966c05 100644
--- a/rpc/core/events.go
+++ b/rpc/core/events.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	tmquery "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/pubsub/query"
 	ctypes "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/rpc/core/types"
 	rpctypes "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/rpc/lib/types"
-	tmtypes "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
 )
 
 // Subscribe for events via WebSocket.
@@ -110,7 +109,7 @@ func Subscribe(wsCtx rpctypes.WSRPCContext, query string) (*ctypes.ResultSubscri
 		for {
 			select {
 			case msg := <-sub.Out():
-				resultEvent := &ctypes.ResultEvent{query, msg.Data().(tmtypes.TMEventData)}
+				resultEvent := &ctypes.ResultEvent{query, msg.Data(), msg.Tags()}
 				wsCtx.TryWriteRPCResponse(
 					rpctypes.NewRPCSuccessResponse(
 						wsCtx.Codec(),
diff --git a/rpc/core/types/responses.go b/rpc/core/types/responses.go
index 62be1cafd..b7932f28a 100644
--- a/rpc/core/types/responses.go
+++ b/rpc/core/types/responses.go
@@ -206,4 +206,5 @@ type (
 type ResultEvent struct {
 	Query string            `json:"query"`
 	Data  types.TMEventData `json:"data"`
+	Tags  map[string]string `json:"tags"`
 }
diff --git a/types/event_bus.go b/types/event_bus.go
index 2f017854b..04b272b2f 100644
--- a/types/event_bus.go
+++ b/types/event_bus.go
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func (b *EventBus) UnsubscribeAll(ctx context.Context, subscriber string) error
 func (b *EventBus) Publish(eventType string, eventData TMEventData) error {
 	// no explicit deadline for publishing events
 	ctx := context.Background()
-	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, eventData, tmpubsub.NewTagMap(map[string]string{EventTypeKey: eventType}))
+	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, eventData, map[string]string{EventTypeKey: eventType})
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func (b *EventBus) PublishEventNewBlock(data EventDataNewBlock) error {
 	logIfTagExists(EventTypeKey, tags, b.Logger)
 	tags[EventTypeKey] = EventNewBlock
 
-	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tmpubsub.NewTagMap(tags))
+	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tags)
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ func (b *EventBus) PublishEventNewBlockHeader(data EventDataNewBlockHeader) erro
 	logIfTagExists(EventTypeKey, tags, b.Logger)
 	tags[EventTypeKey] = EventNewBlockHeader
 
-	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tmpubsub.NewTagMap(tags))
+	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tags)
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ func (b *EventBus) PublishEventTx(data EventDataTx) error {
 	logIfTagExists(TxHeightKey, tags, b.Logger)
 	tags[TxHeightKey] = fmt.Sprintf("%d", data.Height)
 
-	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tmpubsub.NewTagMap(tags))
+	b.pubsub.PublishWithTags(ctx, data, tags)
 	return nil
 }