IT’S NOT A TAX BREAK! Education settings are exempt!

[LaceyLou82]

Fed up of Labour calling the VAT on fees a tax break! Ideologically this is so very unsound, we are talking about providing an education here.

Education is not taxed for a reason, in this country it should be a fundamental right.

As a nation vs the global competition we have this is totally a backwards step.

He could put 10p on income tax and raise billions!!! Foolish policy.

Such a misconception about Private School parents. This is an unfair policy.

Tax receipts in income tax will go down! I won’t need to work if I’m not paying fees by business and I paid over £100k in tax last year alone!

Well, if you paid £100k in tax last year, you must be making shedloads. I'm sure you'll be able to stump up an extra 20% to cover the vat on school fees by making a few economies. And if not, you can use the fees you save to pay for lots of private tutoring, to ensure that you still buy your kids a massive advantage when it comes to their education.

OP I think you just need to accept that you've become a Tory. Sorry.

My business, me, my employee. Not me alone.

@Elodea i have not.

@Aladdinzane there are many other forms of taxation.

Re "I have not [become a Tory]", if you were to ask me to define the differences between Tory and Labour (not in terms specific policies, but broad direction and underlying values) they would include:

• Tory: personal choice
• Labour: greater equality
• Tory: reduce taxes
• Labour: quality public services

Given what you've said in this thread, you align more with the Tory values than the Labour ones. So I would agree with @Elodea that you have become a Tory, at least a bit. Sorry.

"there are many other forms of taxation"

So we can't raise taxes on higher earners, we can't tax wealth, we can't increase CGT or IHT because these are all inherently unfair on those who have worked hard all their lives?

We can't raise corporation tax because this will make the UK unattractive to FDI.

We can't change council tax bands and how they are measured because its unfair to those who own their own home.

So that leaves us what? Increasing VAT, increasing Excise duty etc.

Well, that means that those on low and middle incomes will continue to pay more of their entire income in tax and then be worse off.

So essentially what you are saying, is the poor should pay more?

Adding VAT to private school fees is not purely about the fiscal sums adding up, despite OP's many posts here hammering that point.

It is about working towards creating a society where equality of opportunity is valued. The elites (and yes, if you can afford to send your kids to private school that term does apply to you), have had it far too good for far too long in the UK.

Private school alumni are massively over-represented in professional fields and plum jobs earning high salaries. They are also far more likely to benefit from inherited family wealth. The value of assets has grown much faster than incomes in the last decades.

The less well off in this country have been completely shafted by government policies and economic stagnation.

It's beyond time to work towards a fairer economy for those left behind. Thankyou OP for your future contributions to the exchequer, despite your lack of grace in the giving.

It’s blatantly a shameful attempt to win votes.

If Labour could run a country so well, better than the Tories. There is plenty of tax for them to be playing with to do a better job. The Tories managed to waste 100s of millions of pounds with their corruption. Labour can use the same tax in a different way.

It is poor form of the Labour Party. Full stop.

Also it’s not about connections, most of my friends and family send their kids to State schools. This was my choice for my kids.

This 100%. But it should be a fundamental right to have good, local education for all. And it is the case in many other countries- where private schools hardly exist.

Priority is to get good, local education for the 93% - and not just for the 7%. No brainer, surely.

They have not given the details but surely this would apply to students starting school in 2026 at least. They would be mad to do this with children already in the system. It would be their own downfall otherwise.

Education is a fundamental right in this country.Private education is not

I dunno. The right to choose what works for you? That no one can tell you what to do with your money is a right, surely?

Except this doesn't make it fairer or more equal does it? Making it more expensive simply pushes out the least wealthy users and turns it into something only the wealthiest can afford.

I do not believe education should be taxed, full stop.

Yes, any organisation classed as a charity can claim back the VAT they've paid on certain purchases and also such things as building work to their premises.

Yes, it is. Making connections is about building links with people you don't already know. There is a reason why ex-private school alumni are called the old school tie network. Don't be so obtuse.

Fair enough- but then don't expect to be exempt from VAT.

Paying any tax would violate your "right" to do what you want with your money. Being stopped from buying heroin violates the same "right". How far do you want to take this?

Wow that’s worth it isn’t it! See how little this policy will raise, is he no longer trying to magic up 6500 teachers? The politics of envy.

" The politics of envy"

It really isn't.

It's an appropriate way to raise some tax revenue for spending on education.

What does the "politics of envy" mean?

This simply isn’t true. Many schools are not charities anyway, and those that are don’t tend to be VAT registered for the majority of the services they provide. From the government website:

“A VAT-registered charity can reclaim all the input tax it is charged on purchases which directly relate to taxable goods or services it sells. A charity that is not VAT registered will not be able to recover the VAT it is charged on standard-rated or reduced-rated goods it buys from VAT-registered businesses.”

In my opinion, private schools should be abolished, wealth should be taxed far more aggressively, including a land tax, and income tax should be much more progressive. Council tax should be restructured because it is so regressive.

So whilst your analysis that only the least well off private schoolers will have to make hard choices is correct, all of those very well off people will be paying more in to the public purse and that money can be redistributed. It's at least a good place to start.

@LauderSyme in the mean time we drive our economy down, make it unattractive to global investment and drive out all our talent to other nations.

Yes, it's interesting, isn't it, that there's no British equivalent of the American Dream?

"in the mean time we drive our economy down, make it unattractive to global investment and drive out all our talent to other nations."

Brexit did that tbf

But then those who are in favour of low taxes for themselves always argue this, and ignore high marginal tax rates in other successful OECD countries.