Quebec has just passed a major tipping point in tax policy: no more tipping allowed on restaurant meal taxes.

From now on, when you see a 15, 20 or 50 per cent tip option, it will only be on your food bill, not the GST and QST too, something that has caused many people taxation vexation.

So congrats: you’ll now save $1.80 on a $100 bill when you tip 15 per cent.

In the words of Quebec Justice Minister Jolin-Barrette addressing this historic moment: “We shouldn’t have to feel pressure when we’re paying the bill.”

But in fact tips on tax-added totals are just a tiny part of the growing psychological pressure we all feel from tipping.

I’ve just returned from a boys’ bike trip in France where I realized we Canadians are in a tipping pressure cooker compared to the French and most Europeans.

In France, when your restaurant bill appears on the credit card machine, there are never any tip options to choose among. No 15 per cent, no 20, 30 or whatever crazy number they throw at you for fun.

Just your bill, so you can tap your card and leave without thinking.

If you like the service, you can leave something on the table, generally five or 10 euros. Yet the servers are usually remarkably thankful, offering many “merci”s for your........

© Montreal Gazette