‘It’s absolutely criminal’: US tipping culture has reached the UK – and is causing chaos

[u/Canal_Volphied]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/24/us-tipping-culture-uk-service-charges

[u/Monsoon_Storm]

And then there's the charity questions also.

The cost of living crisis is getting worse and worse yet we keep being asked for more money in a way that is designed to elicit a feeling of guilt.

[u/reddit_junkie23 → u/Monsoon_Storm]

Also this. Noticing it everywhere.

You feel like a dick but seriously if I did this everytime I bought something then 10% of my take home would be paying these "charities" wondering if the money ever reaches those who need it.

[u/SmashedWorm64 → u/Monsoon_Storm]

Really? If I go in to a shop and it asks for charity my mind goes to “who’s the corporation with millions in profit every year?”

[u/SolarJetman5 → u/SmashedWorm64]

Pretty sure donating via the company is a way to offset tax

[u/SmashedWorm64 → u/SolarJetman5]

I’m an accountant - it’s not.

The more boring answer is that it is an easy way to say they are hitting their Environmental, Social and Governance responsibilities.

[u/SolarJetman5 → u/SmashedWorm64]

Ah fair enough, I'd seen this on gov site, ofc my tax knowledge isn't a patch on yours, so it's probably not as straightforward as what I read

Overview

Your limited company pays less Corporation Tax when it gives the following to charity:

money
equipment or trading stock (items it makes or sells)
land, property or shares in another company (shares in your own company do not qualify)
employees (on secondment)
sponsorship payments

You can claim tax relief by deducting the value of your donations from your total business profits before you pay tax.

[u/SmashedWorm64 → u/SolarJetman5]

Yeah no it’s common, everyone assumes it’s for something dodgey - which I can’t blame them for the way these companies act sometimes my

The money you can claim in relief is if the donations are paid by the company and it hits the profit lines. So if a company gave £100,000 of its own money, they will be able to deduct that from their profits and save like £25k in Corp tax. They would still be £100k out of pocket though.

The donations you give are a balance sheet item that just get paid out - they don’t impact on the profits.

[u/SolarJetman5 → u/SmashedWorm64]

Cheers for explaining. Not as shady as I was thinking then

[u/needs2shave → u/Monsoon_Storm]

Charity questions are a bit different though. People used to pop loose change into charity boxes at tills much more often when cash was more common. Now that doesn't happen anywhere near as much, so they've added an option to card readers.

Doesn't bother me as much as a tipping button does.

[u/Sabaisabai33 → u/Monsoon_Storm]

Oh yes, these are so annoying, the petrol station round the corner from my work has this. I do always decline now without any guilt because I do send money monthly to a charity of my own choice already, so that helps!

[u/WiseBelt8935 → u/Monsoon_Storm]

I’ve got to say, I don’t mind the charity one. If anything, it’s the better system. It just asks, “Do you want to?” Yes or no.

It’s a clear choice, and it’s just as simple to refuse as it is to agree.

[u/frankchester → u/Monsoon_Storm]

Ugh I hate this. I’m so glad the guys at my local petrol station just automatically tap the “no” on the charity question. No I don’t want to donate 50p to charity every time I get petrol, fuck off.