To ask if anyone is clued up on the challenge this week to VAT on school fees?

That's nonsense. Maybe a minority of them are but most people don't care about other's privilege and are just getting on with their own lives. Are you envious of their privilege? Presumably you made some choices along the way?

No they are too busy shouting at the privilege of others whilst ignoring their own huge privilege

People whose DC go to grammars and/or those who buy houses in the best catchments don't tend to be on here saying how hard done by they are though, do they? That's the difference.

It's stating the obvious that everyone does what they believe is best for their DC. The type of car someone drives is wholly irrelevant to that. It is also holier than thou to state what a rubbish car one has to drive to pay for private education and showcase all the sacrifices that have been made. That's their choice.

Because it is thrown out as a holier than thou comment by posters who feel they are morally superior to any of us who choose indy schools.
Only on MN are people judged for doing the best for their DC, in the real world everyone is doing it with whatever means they have.

You're right, like parents who tutor their kids for grammar, or the ones who can afford to buy houses in best catchment.
What parent wouldn't do the best for their kids? I would judge any parent who didn't want the best for their child.

Yes. Privileged people using their privilege to maintain privilege.

Where is the self sacrifice in that?

‘Same as the virtue signalling when parents say "we could afford indy school but choose not to because we don't believe in it/we want our kids to interact with normal people"’

Hello! yes, we do exist, obviously as only 7% of people pay for private school when many more could but lots of us it’s a morals/value choice. Not virtue signalling because IRL no-one actually gives a shit about it and until now, with this change in private parents having to pay tax, it was never a topic of discussion amongst my friends.
I know there are ones who agree with my choice and have made the same choice, I know there are probably some who can’t understand why we would use normal schools when we could go posh. I know a couple very angry about VAT and I know a couple who are ‘if we can afford fees we can afford VAT.’

the reality is - most parents can afford the extra, but I do see why they wouldn’t want to pay tax if they thought there was a way of wiggling out of it .

Whichever ones lift the standards of public services for everyone, to include education, health, social care, elder care, sports/leisure provision, transport and the state of our fucking roads!

Same as the virtue signalling when parents say "we could afford indy school but choose not to because we don't believe in it/we want our kids to interact with normal people"

If cars are so totally irrelevant, why do so many have to stress the point that they are driving clapped out whatevers just to pay for their DC's education. It's a form of virtue signalling and it is very boring.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

Mistype, meant 40% of working age people are supporting the rest of society. That isn't sustainable.

The issue in UK is that 60% support the rest.

?

If that is stating that 60% of the population are supporting 100% ?

Isn't this thread supposed to descend towards a conclusion that it's just 10 MN posters that are supporting the 100% ?

As do we. The issue in UK is that 60% support the rest.

Lawyers always win as they get paid regardless (unless it’s something they are doing for free but that’s rare unless it’s something where fees can be taken from damages awarded). If money being used on lawyers already within the Sen system and going to shareholders of independent specialists actually went into supporting children with Sen then people wouldn’t have to be making the choice to send their child to a private school when they don’t want to

I can’t understand how the challenge could win.

Some lawyers have already won ....

Of course it would. The people paying are already propping up the tax burden

Mn pp though always happy to take more from someone else

I can’t understand how the challenge could win. I don’t actually agree with vat on fees part of the reason being that there’s a lot of parents of Sen kids that choose private school over fighting for an ehcp for support in mainstream or specialist which is what the challenge is about. However those parents are still at a massive advantage to parents of Sen kids who cannot pay and have to go through the tribunal system to get ehcp and support, and even those parents are still at an advantage to parents who do not have the capability to understand Sen law and go to tribunal/fight the la. I don’t understand how you can say it’s discrimination when the vast majority of disabled children don’t have the opportunity anyway and there is an alternative system for people to use to get their child support in education.

it also makes me slightly cross that people haven’t given two hoots about Sen for years and it’s underfunding, which is why many parents have had to go down the private route, but now when they are seeing it might be useful to them suddenly they are saying it’s discriminatory

Whatever's due really. I pay my taxes. They buy me civilisation.

If MN were even vaguely representative of the UK (it isn't) then just 1% of the effort put into whinging, whining and banging on here about tax would boost the UKs productivity 100%

Which tax rises are you looking forward to paying?

This. No amount of weeping and wailing on SM is going to make a difference.

Well it might - but possibly not the difference intended 😀

I work opp a large prep in our town and if Inmake the mistake of going around school run time can hardly get down the road for all the giant Range Rovers and SUV blocking the road dropping off offspring…

This. No amount of weeping and wailing on SM is going to make a difference. So plan for VAT and plan for fees rising between 5-10 % each year too.
Colleaguepulled her kids from private because the extras were around £4/£5k per kid - they used school mini bus played sport and needed a bit of extra tutoring- and the fees rose by between 7-12 % every year which they had foreseen.
Kids now thriving in state schools and she says she’s a lot less stressed over money - was about to pull a load out of their pensions to cover fees when they sat down and realised that would be mad.