has tipping culture gone too far?

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

“What’s the value of a tip?” That is one of the questions being debated in the US and around the world in recent weeks after presidential contenders Donald Trump and Kamala Harris proposed tax breaks on tips for service workers, a move some view as a strategy to win votes in swing states.

The act of tipping for service means something different to Americans than it does to people in the UK. In Britain and Northern Ireland, gratuity is typically optional, seldom exceeding 13 per cent of a total restaurant bill. In contrast, the US has seen tipping evolve into a near-mandatory practice for a much wider range of services, with recommended amounts rising to as much as 25 per cent in recent months.

As Brooke Masters highlights in her column in the Financial Times on tipping — which attracted hundreds of comments from readers — this trend is ingrained in the US employment system, where lower wages and subsidised pay for restaurant workers have long been an accepted standard.

What do you think? Should US employers be required to pay service workers a full minimum wage, regardless of tips? Or is 25 per cent an acceptable standard gratuity? Tell us your views by voting in our poll or writing in the comments section below.