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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

“How much is a tip worth?” This is one of the questions that has been discussed in the US and around the world in recent weeks after presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris proposed tax breaks for tips for service workers. Some see this as a strategy to win votes in swing states.

Tipping means something different to Americans than it does to people in the UK. In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, tipping is usually voluntary and rarely exceeds 13 percent of the total restaurant bill. In the US, on the other hand, tipping has become a nearly mandatory practice for a much wider range of services. In recent months, recommended amounts have risen to as much as 25 percent.

As Brooke Masters points out in her Financial Times column on tipping – which attracted hundreds of reader comments – this trend is deeply rooted in the U.S. labor system, where lower wages and subsidized salaries for restaurant workers have long been an accepted norm.

What do you think? Should U.S. employers be required to pay service workers the full minimum wage regardless of tips? Or is 25 percent an acceptable standard tip? Let us know your thoughts by taking our poll or writing in the comments section below.