VAT on private school fees the gateway to VAT on university?

[LalaPaloosa]

Am I being unreasonable to think this is just the beginning for VAT on education? Once VAT on private schools is bedded down, Labour will start looking at universities. Think about how much they can make there.

And mist and twilight.

Once the precedent is set, it’s set. University isn’t a necessity so what’s to stop VAT being added? Same with school holiday clubs, after school and breakfast clubs, booster clubs, trips, nursery etc. Then private healthcare, then non emergency, critical healthcare etc.

This is why I can’t understand why people are happy for the precedent to be set at all. The scope will expand.

🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱 Is it 4th July yet?

No, absolutely not because universities are PUBLIC institutions.

This! I always knew mumsnet was particularly middle class but didn't realise the sheer numbers of people sending their kids to private school.

Yep OP, next universities and then VAT on sanitary protection hot on its heels.

Here's a thought - search MN for one of the many many many threads on this exact topic which will explain to you. In words of one syllable.

Are you some Tory media employee OP? They are constantly on here trying to stir up this kind of thing.
MN members are generally very supportive of VAT on private schools.
Labour are going to win the election. VAT on private schools is going to happen.

And mist and twilight.

What about rainbows and unicorns? Surely they're safe...?

I think universities have had their day. Many young people from poor/middle income families will decide not to go anyway so yes they will probably have to increase fees further

It’s more that Tory employees are currently very active on social media, including MN. They keep posting about VAT on private schools hoping they can gain a few votes.
Political parties have always been active on MN.

They're cancelling rainbows and unicorns all together 😱

The current cuts and redundancies in the university sector has been extremely high recently. I also see the number of students going onto university dropping back to what ot used to be, they never should have tried to push for 50% of students going to university in the first place. There are many jobs you really don't require a degree for.

Right??

The ISBA, The ISC, and Baines Cutler must be posting here the rate they pop up.

You’d think 50% of kids were in independent school the amount of angst on here!

Surely it’s more like charging VAT on private medical operations?

Some people pay private to skip ahead of NHS queues. If we charged VAT on private operations that would be more like charging VAT on private education?

Fret not, the VAT charged on private schools increases magically to improve everything. First it was a generic ‘improve state schools’, that’s huge tick in the box. State schools are going to be amazing, all the things the cat will pay for...

And now look, it’s magically increased again:

• ‘Spare school classrooms will be converted into high quality spaces for nurseries, paid for by ending the tax breaks private schools enjoy.’

What? Make it make sense.

Yes, please make it stop!

How many private school threads are there ongoing on this forum - it is too much!

What Cat is paying for this stuff?

Maybe we should charge VAT on everything, or nothing.

The current rules on what is VATable are bizarre and often illogical.

If we put VAT on everything, the rate could roughly halve. If we put it on nothing, we would be removing a regressive tax. Both have merit.

Otherwise we spend time making decisions like that a gingerbread man with two chocolate eyes is VAT-free, but add a chocolate belt and it's VATable. What's a cake and what's a biscuit. Rabbits are VAT free but other pets aren't. etc etc etc.

I have one due to go to university this Sept.

It’s been an eye opener. Fees £9,250 per year. Accomodation £5-10k per year depending. Then you have food and other general costs.

I just don’t think the universities could manage if VAT was added. Unless they got even more overseas students in to balance the books. Some courses have a third or more places filled by overseas students already.

It would also be very unpopular. It’s easy for most people not to care about private schools, but not so easy to not care about universities due to the numbers involved.

I don’t agree with the VAT on private schools. I also think it will be problematic to implement and very little money will be raised.

I did notice that Angela Rayner didn’t mention private school VAT as a source of funding for labour’s spending plans on the TV debate last Friday. So I wonder if they are actually going to get it done. I think it might not happen.

The general trend is to remove VAT from things, not add more things to the VAT group. So this is very unlikely IMO.

This is an argument I have seen and I actually tend to support it.

In particular, people tend to demand that VAT exemptions are used to "help poor people," but it's a terrible way of doing this.

If you want to be a more equitable society, you'd be better off doing what Denmark does - VAT on basically everything with almost no exemptions, but counterbalanced with a more generous welfare system---which they can afford, in part, because of the VAT monies.

Now that, is a Very Good Question.

Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette inherited millions when he died. Maybe she's paying? I think she's got a private jet.

Dear god please make it stop - give them their own dedicated section!!!

if I never hear the words “vAT” and “private school” in the same sentence ever again I will be a happy woman!

Many universities are close to financial failure, i think the majority of people would be shocked if they realise how bad things are. Labour might add VAT on but if they do so will hopefully also increase fees by a lot/or as a govt make more financial contribution to universities. They can’t continue to have a model where they make a loss on home students.

staff numbers are being decimated, teaching hours cut, modules dropped, whole courses dropped…….its the students who suffer. And if a university goes bankrupt midway through your degree people won’t be happy.