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Original poster

If VAT is added on Private School Fees, then it will be added onto University fees as well

539 replies

AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 08:06

Does it worry you that this new policy of adding VAT on educational fees will also be applied to university fees as well?

AIBU to think this will put university out of the reach of the majority of families who will support their kids through Uni?

Also, for those who do go the level of debt they will come out with will be really big.

If they can apply VAT to private school educational fees then they've setup a case for Independent schools argue that it must be applied to Uni as well.

Is this going to create a situation where only the wealthy can send their kids to Uni?

I'm wondering why no one is asking this question!!

OP posts:
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18
EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:57

Thanks @HopeMumsnet

Hmm at some twitchy Labour supporters

LongTimeListener1 · 31/01/2024 11:56

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 31/01/2024 11:54

We need to hold our politicians up to scrutiny more on what they're proposing.

Shall we start with Rwanda rather than VAT on private schools?

Why bother scrutinising them on something that they’re actively trying to implement when you can make deranged threads on Mumsnet about something that no one has even suggested?

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:55

And I’m not a fan of VAT on private school fees. I think it’s gimmicky bullshit, reminiscent of the Brexit bus slogan about the money that could go to a the NHS.

I also think that any policy change that will lead to businesses closing and children’s education disrupted needs to be taken a lot more seriously. This doesn’t feel serious.

We are a rich country. Huge GDP. But inequality grows year on year. VAT on private school fees is not going to reverse that. We need to start taxing wealth. Assets grow in value year on year, while wages remain stagnant. Until we gave the balls to address that, our country is becoming less and equitable. Schools and health are at the business end of this. They face the real consequences. Yes, they need more money in the short term, but more than that, we need to move towards a system which is not becoming more unequal by the minute.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 31/01/2024 11:54

We need to hold our politicians up to scrutiny more on what they're proposing.

Shall we start with Rwanda rather than VAT on private schools?

LongTimeListener1 · 31/01/2024 11:54

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:53

If you’re waiting for them to explicitly say…

op you could apply this to much from Labour

I mean that is how politics generally works.

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:53

If you’re waiting for them to explicitly say…

op you could apply this to much from Labour

MNHQ
HopeMumsnet · 31/01/2024 11:53

AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 11:09

Mumsnet HQ

Please can you confirm that I am a long term poster who has name changed.

I think we need to put the accusations that I'm a Tory activist to bed.

This is an important discussion that many people are interested in.

I've reported this post as well.

Hi all,
As you know we cannot ever say who or what a poster is, or indeed who they work for, but we can at least say here that this poster has used MN quite widely and is not a new member. We hope that helps.

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:52

TheLostOnes · 31/01/2024 11:52

Yes, I'm afraid you are destined to now be used as an example of people silencing debate on every thread on this topic forever more. 'There are even people who report every single thread on this topic don't you know? How can we possibly be the ones acting in bad faith when there are corbynistas behaving like that?'

Labour are not planning on adding vat to uni fees. Shout 'I told you so' to me on the street if I'm wrong. Or better yet, call me economically illiterate. That's the most common insult thrown around on these threads.

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Just an example of how precious people are

TheLostOnes · 31/01/2024 11:52

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:47

Well yes, but Im not sure some posters want to pay that much attention when they would rather get in a tizz suggesting I want to shut down their free speech 😁

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Yes, I'm afraid you are destined to now be used as an example of people silencing debate on every thread on this topic forever more. 'There are even people who report every single thread on this topic don't you know? How can we possibly be the ones acting in bad faith when there are corbynistas behaving like that?'

Labour are not planning on adding vat to uni fees. Shout 'I told you so' to me on the street if I'm wrong. Or better yet, call me economically illiterate. That's the most common insult thrown around on these threads.

Original poster
AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 11:52

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:49

You wanted the op ‘investigated’ by mn. It was a silly overreaction

Btw you didn’t even tag mnhq, and that doesn’t even work

They don’t scan threads for ‘mn’

Edited
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Thats okay, I investigated myself 😂

OP posts:
LongTimeListener1 · 31/01/2024 11:51

AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 11:46

Couldn't agree more.

We need clarity on this proposal and I hope they provide detail in their manifesto.

Assuming something won't happen because it doesn't make sense didn't work during covid or Brexit. We need to hold our politicians up to scrutiny more on what they're proposing.

Show quote history

If you’re waiting for them to explicitly say “we won’t add VAT on university fees” you’re going to be waiting for a long time.

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:49

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:47

Well yes, but Im not sure some posters want to pay that much attention when they would rather get in a tizz suggesting I want to shut down their free speech 😁

Show quote history

You wanted the op ‘investigated’ by mn. It was a silly overreaction

Btw you didn’t even tag mnhq, and that doesn’t even work

They don’t scan threads for ‘mn’

Araminta1003 · 31/01/2024 11:48

Any increase in uni loans costs them money - see my link above. They are losing money on uni loans because we have so much sovereign debt post Covid.

Private unis like BPP is what you need to be looking at and thinking about. They want eg the legal sector and shareholders to do it.

It does not matter whether Labour or Tory get into power. Uni is costing them too much.

titchy · 31/01/2024 11:48

decionsdecisions62 · 31/01/2024 10:35

Universities don't have charitable status. Neither should they and neither should bloody Eton and Marlborough!

Errrr yeah we do.

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:47

TheLostOnes · 31/01/2024 11:44

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the pp was saying that they thought their own post would be deleted (presumably for questioning the intention of the op) rather than demanding that the whole thread be deleted.

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Well yes, but Im not sure some posters want to pay that much attention when they would rather resort to oft-repeated suggestion that I want to shut down their free speech 😁

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:47

Dibblydoodahdah · 31/01/2024 11:45

Given that the UK would be the only country in Europe (and I believe the World) charging sales tax on education it is perfectly reasonable for people to wonder what they will propose adding VAT to next.

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Yep. People accepted and welcomed that outlier pdq

Tax the rich vibe gets people going

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:47

TheLostOnes · 31/01/2024 11:44

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the pp was saying that they thought their own post would be deleted (presumably for questioning the intention of the op) rather than demanding that the whole thread be deleted.

Show quote history

Well yes, but Im not sure some posters want to pay that much attention when they would rather get in a tizz suggesting I want to shut down their free speech 😁

Original poster
AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 11:46

Another76543 · 31/01/2024 11:39

I couldn’t agree more. The Labour Party started off a few years ago voting to abolish private schools altogether, and acquiring the infrastructure for the state. They abandoned that plan as they clearly hadn’t thought it through (despite getting as far as voting for it at conference).

Then they told everyone that they would abolish charitable status to solve the tax issue. Despite lots of people telling them that not all schools were charities and that the VAT issue was separate, they continued with this plan. It’s only relatively recently that they seem to have realised that plan wasn’t workable, and wouldn’t achieve the desired consequences anyway, and now they’ve abandoned it.

They are now saying they’re going to change the VAT legislation. Given the previous plans weren’t thought through and that even the most basics of VAT law weren’t understood, are we really supposed to have confidence in this latest plan working? Do people honestly think that they’ve thought all the different scenarios through and that there won’t be unintended consequences?

The Labour Party are tying themselves in knots over a policy which will raise a relatively tiny amount of revenue, even using the most optimistic estimates. It’s ridiculous and not properly thought out. A total shambles.

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Couldn't agree more.

We need clarity on this proposal and I hope they provide detail in their manifesto.

Assuming something won't happen because it doesn't make sense didn't work during covid or Brexit. We need to hold our politicians up to scrutiny more on what they're proposing.

OP posts:
MasterBeth · 31/01/2024 11:45

About 6% of pupils go to private schools.

Up to 40% of 18 year olds go to university.

Putting VAT on private schools to spend more money on state schools is therefore a popular policy. Putting VAT on student loans and fees wouldn't be.

So, no, Labour is not going to create a situation where only the wealthy can send their kids to Uni.

Dibblydoodahdah · 31/01/2024 11:45

Cvoight · 31/01/2024 11:41

Look, even the lowest of right wing hacks would struggle to get a piece published suggesting VAT on school fees will lead to VAT on university fees.

On the other hand, they would stand a decent chance with a piece about how concerned people are about VAT school fees leading to VAT on university fees, as evidenced by this thread.

Just saying.

Given that the UK would be the only country in Europe (and I believe the World) charging sales tax on education it is perfectly reasonable for people to wonder what they will propose adding VAT to next.

LongTimeListener1 · 31/01/2024 11:44

Another76543 · 31/01/2024 11:43

It might not be accidental. It might be intentional. Given that only 35% of the population go on to higher education, it’s quite privileged to go to university. Is it fair that those 35% get an advantage over the other 65% and yet don’t have to pay VAT? It’s the same argument many use for taxing private schools, after all.

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Oh for the love of god. If they want to increase the cost to the user of university education then they’ll do it through the fee cap. And they’re going to increase the fee cap.

TheLostOnes · 31/01/2024 11:44

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:33

Feel free to let the delete it now pp know they’re worrying about nothing

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I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the pp was saying that they thought their own post would be deleted (presumably for questioning the intention of the op) rather than demanding that the whole thread be deleted.

Another76543 · 31/01/2024 11:43

LongTimeListener1 · 31/01/2024 11:36

The fee cap is going to increase. This nonsense thread about whether or not they’re going to accidentally put VAT on university fees because they didn’t read the small print is just a distraction.

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It might not be accidental. It might be intentional. Given that only 35% of the population go on to higher education, it’s quite privileged to go to university. Is it fair that those 35% get an advantage over the other 65% and yet don’t have to pay VAT? It’s the same argument many use for taxing private schools, after all.

EasternStandard · 31/01/2024 11:42

Dibblydoodahdah · 31/01/2024 11:30

As a fellow lawyer, I was surprised that it took Starmer so long to work out that ending charitable status would be problematic. It certainly didn’t instil any confidence in me voting for him.

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Yes all those spiralling on the existence of this thread and getting put out at op asking a question

Even Starmer took some time

Original poster
AgathaCrispee · 31/01/2024 11:41

However, clearly we are loving going more and more US style in all respects

This is what concerns me too.

OP posts: