Restaurant Takings vs School VAT

We have plenty of money ( early retired boomers). We tend to eat out for breakfast , lunch or brunch. We eat out every week. I don't want to eat a huge meal in the evening anymore and it just isn't value for money.

We eat out reasonably regularly (and don't have school-age dc), but when you are paying something like £17 each for a lasagne? I could make a lasagne for ten people for that.

It's not a tax paid by children. It's a tax paid by their parents, guardians, grandparents etc.

In our area of Wales restaurants are doing better at lunchtime than in the evenings which after the early crowd are very quiet. Perhaps COVID, perhaps Netflix, Prime etc. there's been a huge shift here.

Forgive me but I'm trying to understand what you're saying. You've got DCs doing GCSEs. Without the VAT you'd have had enough money to pay for them to complete their GCSEs, continue on to 6th form and still have some left over for university.

With the VAT the school fees have increased so massively that you've barely got enough to afford for them to finish their GCSEs with nothing left over.

Maybe I'm really rubbish at maths but I can't make that add up, unless the school is increasing its fees far in excess of 20%. Can you help me to understand the numbers involved here?

All the people on weight loss injections... https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/20/weight-loss-drug-patients-spend-less-on-restaurants-takeout-survey.html

This is interesting, I didn’t think usage was so wide spread.

It's people on Ozempic and mounjaro eating much less.the restaurant trade is very concerned about it.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/ozempic-menus-restaurants-dining-habits-hospitality-industry-b2709332.html#:~:text=In%20the%20US%2C%20where%20Ozempic,course%20meals%20they%20once%20did.

Private schools already paid VAT, this is a new tax paid by children ( fee payer) aged between 5 and 19 on education services. Please familiarise yourself with the policies before commenting.

Correct, but 20% of children go at some point (I.e A levels) so people could be saving now they need an extra 20%. Independent schools also support round 350 000 jobs which are now on shakey ground and the 14 billion the schools add to the economy each year is going to go down as more and more schools close. So it’s not actually such a daft question, I just think the brain drain and looming rise in employment resulting from Labour’s myriad of other taxes and ill thought out policies is more to blame.

Personally yes we are eating out less because of the VAT implementation which is costing us £10k per annum extra of our post tax income. But also partly because meals out now feel very expensive for what you get.

Actually, I hate to break this to you, but some of us are actually not two home owning DFL's. I am using inheritance to cover school fees, which are finite and when they are gone there is no more. We will have to take up places at state 6th form and now not have savings at all because the little amount that we did have left over, that would have paid for the last 2 years and support for a part of uni, is now going to be gone at end of Y11. Our choice sure, to keep kids in a school they are doing well at in the middle of GCSEs. Not many parents would pull theirs out at this time!

Some people are so desperate to claim that schools should not pay vat (for some reason) they'll try and shoehorn anything in

Weather's not as nice, vat on schools
Traffic was heavy today, vat on schools

Personally I think it's because the food in restaurants has gone so far downhill in the last few years. Even quite expensive restaurants are serving the same old shite - nothing exciting or different from what you could cook at home. Mid-range and budget restaurants - you might as well buy a ready meal from Tesco.

So the incessant screeds about how VAT on private schools would lead to the near-collapse of the entire educational system turned out to be baseless fear-mongering? I'm shocked. Shocked.

Well not that shocked.

I actually did have to eat in a hotel restaurant a couple of weeks ago when I was travelling for work. This cost my employer £20. It was shockingly bad. And why I don’t spend my own money eating out anymore!

7% of school-aged children, not 7% of the entire population

It isn't the case that 100% of the population have school-aged children, though, so the actual percentage of the population paying school fees will be much lower.

Probably spending house to nicer areas and getting extra tutoring.

I do agree though that as prices have gone up I expect more so most meals out are pretty disappointing, makes us reluctant to spend the money

7% of the population is around over 4.5 million people that you’re referring to!
You’re talking as if 7% is nobody.
This is astounding.

😂😂😂funniest thing I've heard in ages

I’ve stopped eating out as much because it’s just become quite disappointing. Quality and quantity of portions keeps going down while the price keeps going up.

I understand the pressures on restaurants that mean they have to do this, but for me choosing where to spend my money it is making going to restaurants less appealing.

We are very comfortable, but ours are in state school. So VAT not affecting us at all.

Restaurant takings are down because prices have increased due to general cost of living increases over the past few years and poor quality. Dh sells professional kitchen components to some of the higher end restaurants. Raw materials (metal costs) have gone up hugely, in large part due to Brexit, which is passed on to the restaurant and they no doubt must have to raise menu prices.

All the restaurants around here are struggling for staff, the food quality is blah and service isn’t great. I can think of only 1 restaurant locally I would pay to eat in. Otherwise, it’s all a bit shit and at £80 easily for 2 adults and 2 children, that’s nearly my weekly shopping and I could cook something so much nicer myself. Why go out? My middle class self is quite fussy and I’d rather eat my own cooking, even with no VAT to pay.

Surely all those who have removed their kids from private schools due to the VAT now have extra money to spend in restaurants??

(I know several that will at the end of this year!)