To be glad that the VAT on school fees

[Shaketherombooga]

Is now going to be happening in January? what’s the point in stalling it? I think it’s one of many decisions that we just need to get in with.

YABU - it’s SO unfair. Labour hates ‘strivers’ etc etc

YANBU - Yup, Labour said they are taking away tax breaks for private schools, so let’s get on with it.

@RunningThroughMyHead I send two children to independent schools - both with bursary and scholarship support. We’re privileged in many ways but we are no way near the top 10% of earners in the UK. No way near. You wouldn’t read our monthly income and expenditure and think “wow, this is a privileged family”. You’d think “how the heck do they manage school fees?!”

OP why don’t you be honest about the quality of the state school your kids go to? I bet it’s fantastic. You could have afforded private, but didn’t. So that indicates that you are not using a terrible state school.

I think the likes of you, with all your piles of money, should contribute to your dc’s education (heavily - thousands). Other people are using private because the state option is appalling - scrimping to do so. I ended up using private due to SEN child. Why should this kind of person subsidise your kids’ education via VAT? You should pay.

I voted for labour partly because of this so i do hope they get on with it.

@RunningThroughMyHead I think maybe you (and others) think, hmm. 3 kids x fees = at least £60,000 from taxed income. So the parent/parents much earn more than £100,000 before any other living expense is factored in.

It’s just not that simple. Our fees each year “should” be £42,000. I actually pay £16,000. I am not a higher rate tax payer so that gives you an idea of how “privileged” we are financially.

Several grammar schools in the North West, if you want to go to oxbridge, they're pretty much your only chance of a place. Only a handful of places for those in private school or state schools elsewhere. Definitely a huge North South element. I went to the open days a few years ago, we didn't see any others Northeners although I'm sure there were some!

So you are well below £59k pretax annual salary?

“According to the latest data from HMRC, the top 10% of earners make an annual personal income of over £59,200 in the UK. This is roughly 2x the median UK income of £33,280 per year.”

The website will say what percentile you are. You are probably higher than you think.

@LoremIpsumCici I would LOVE to be earning close to £59k!

Id support that. Level the playing field, no more private schools.

I completely agree with this.

People earning over X amount should absolutely be billed by their local authority for their child’s education. The people who say “I could afford to send my children to private school, but chose not to” are the absolute worst. Imagine sending your children to a state school that most parents can only dream of sending their children to and thinking you are somehow morally superior for allowing the tax payer to pick up the bill.

I consider anyone who lives in the catchment area of a good state school privileged. I didn’t. City dwellers don’t appreciate that not all of us have options, and if your only available state school is useless, then going private is Hobson’s choice.

Yes you are right - this type of person is the worst kind of hypocrite.

Absolutely, couldn't agree more.

”by the luck of becoming richer”? Really? I’m pretty sure my income scale has nothing to do with luck and quite a lot to do with sustained years of hard work and good decisions. But if it makes you feel better then sure.

Yes, this is right

Notably, Rachel Reeves went to a nice single sex state school. Both her parents were teachers. This is massive privilege overall - but people seem to pretend that she is “just state educated”. My arse crack. She was very privileged.

Just like Starmer at a nice grammar school that turned private when he was in 6th form. Parents who loved and supported him. Oh sure, no privileges there either. Again, my arse crack.

these people are hypocrites. They had privilege, but just because it wasn’t called “private school”, it seems to be ok to pretend they are like everyone else. Anyone who thinks they are just like everyone else is frankly stupid.

Actually you’re making yourself feel better by pretending that luck had nothing to do with your success. It takes more than hard work and good decisions to get rich. Thinking there was no luck involved means you can deny your privilege and feel superior to those less lucky.

I am only stating the facts based on thousands of sociology studies.

Except there isn't a surplus, or won't be by 2028
www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/school-population-data-more-pupils-than-expected-in-2028

And your partner? You did say “our monthly income” 😉

Oops that article doesn’t predict a surplus, but rather a smaller fall in numbers

”This change is spread across the forthcoming years as follows:

• In 2025 the population will fall by 42,000 rather than the 79,000 predicted last year
• In 2026 the population will fall by 42,000 rather than the 81,000 predicted last year
• In 2027 the population will fall by 52,000 rather than the 78,000 predicted last year
• In 2028 the population will fall by 71,000 rather than the 91,000 predicted last year

This does still mean there will be 207,000 fewer pupils in the nursery and primary system by 2028 - a decline of 4.5 per cent from the current pupil population of 4,563,525”

I'd much rather these inequalities were addressed than VAT on private schools. I'd prefer our public transport to be improved, train fares to be lower, local opportunities for people to rival cities in the South, better health outcomes and many more. VAT on private school fees is a vote winner for a certain demographic. It will not improve lives of children or families in the North of England.

@Tgjjl

Yes its just so wrong

Who do Labour actually represent

Not the working classes

@LoremIpsumCici my DH grew up in care. Not foster care, but a series of shitty “care homes’ where unspeakable things happened to him. He now is ‘rich” by most financial standards, but still in therapy for the things that were done to him as a child. I am not entirely sure HOW even you could think he was “lucky” or “denying his privilege”. You won’t reply because this won’t suit your “poor me” narrative, which, interestingly enough, DH does NOT have. Perhaps THAT might have contributed to his success?

Why? Did you not research the likely impact of the policy beforehand?

It isn't going to help state schools or any of the children in either state or private.

VAT on school fees isn’t meant to improve the lives of children or families anywhere in England. They are meant to ensure that the wealthier pay a fairer amount of tax for what is essentially a luxury.

That then helps a bit towards the country’s £100bn tax revenue loss due to Brexit, Covid and Trussnomics. £40bn is being raised by the freezing of the income tax thresholds even after the NIC cut- which was essentially the government pretending they’d cut taxes when really the two things above are analogous to taking £20 and then giving back £2.

I never ear mark these sorts of fund raising tax hikes to promises of what it might go to. That has to be fought for seperately. Even if politicians promise money gained by taxes here will then go to fund something else- they can do whatever they please.

I support the VAT on private school fees from a sense of equity and the fact the country is broke, so those most able to give a bit more should. They’re already making those the least able do without contribute.