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.

If the OP is rich enough to afford private, then she/he may too experience some new financial challenges under a Labour government. The sooner the better hey, let’s get on with it!

Just realising the number of people genuinely worried that VAT would be charged before the ink is even dry on the law.

Every law has a an implementation period. 6 months is about the minimum.

So there is no way that they can pass it in January and make it enforceable in January.

The goal to pass the law in January 25 (get it on the books) means that compliance (actually paying VAT) can’t happen until the 25/26 school year at the earliest.

They’d not want to start it at the tail end of a fiscal year for taxes (5 Apr- 4 Apr) either.

@Meowzabubz is absolutely right. For the very wealthy you could double school fees and it would still be completely ok. This stupid policy will widen the gulf between the rich and the middle classes

We were quite relieved to hear it in the kings speech this week as they could have tried to sneak it through as a tax emergency budget. By doing it this legal way- I wonder if labour don’t actually want it to go through but need to be seen to be doing something.

Hills Road is an exceptional sixth form. There are plenty of state school parents now panicking that their child won’t get a place (it’s selective) when the children with flawless GCSE grades apply from the (excellent) independent schools in Cambridge.

There will be state school children who will
miss out on Hills Road (and many others) now.

Well done for saying that. There is some pretty nasty targeting of children of wealthier families on MN. If poorer children were targeted like this there would uproar. BTW Hugo is quite a popular name for "ordinary"children at the moment. There are 2 Hugos and my DGDs nursery, all ordinary kids with ordinary parents

Well we are not all in London. There is huge pressure on secondary schools in this area due to the huge swathes of housing being built around around town

I expect a disproportionate number of the children at that school have parents who teach at the university and the children are intellectually way above average

I am really fucking bored of all the threads whinging about VAT on private education now

Im so sorry to hear this but glad he’s doing well at his new school- I would try and chat with the governors and head and ask them to either reduce his fees to make it the same or a payment plan of the 20% extra so you don’t experience hardship. They will have lots in a similar situation and will try and help where they can.

Aside from this statement being total nonsense there is also another huge tax issue that is not discussed as much as it should be.

It costs me around 250k to send DS to private school for 14 years. To fund this I need to use nearly 500k of pre-tax income. This generates nearly 250k of income tax.

If I decide not to use private schools I will not be paying that additional 250k income tax. I’ll either put the full 500k into a pension and pay no tax or I’ll work less or retire earlier. Either way the Treasury will be 250k worse off plus will have to find 100k to fund a state place for my DS. It soon becomes a very expensive policy mistake.

80 kids vs 5 kids out of how large an upper sixth in each school?

That’s the thing, state schools are massive compared to private schools.

UK wide, a privately educated child is still 9.6x more likely to get into Oxbridge than a state educated child.

If you can already afford to live in and send your kids to private school in Cambridge then you won’t be worrying about the VAT. Hills road has always been difficult to get into.

the real problem with Cambridge is the massive expansion of housing but not building on the already pretty shit healthcare/education provisions for anyone without millions in the bank

My kids are young adults.

I'll be sure to advise them that when they set up home and consider having a family, that they need to buy their way into the catchment of an excellent state school.

This policy will increase inequality. And those without the ability to buy themselves into catchments will be hit the hardest. Stupid fuckwit Labour policies.

Don’t read or comment on them then. Maybe when you are unfairly targeted by a different policy you’ll feel different.

Ha ha ha! Dream
on!

If the point of the post is it's going to happen whatever and the only debate is around when rather than if. (Which does appear to be the reality.)

I think they may as well get on with it, people can join in the normal admission rounds for starting year R on 2025 or starting year 7 in 2025. The others can start their in-year transition process straight away if they can no longer afford fees
.

It's not much time for people to adjust, but then they should have got one terms fees vat free this coming academic year.

I think January is ambitious as consultation hasn’t even started. I can’t imagine it’s doable. Although I’m sure someone is going to come along with facts and figures to prove me wrong!
The chancellor has made a pledge of this not being implemented until at least September 2025 so it makes me wonder if this lot are to be trusted. (no matter whether you agree with this policy or not).

A significant number of private schools have taken legal advice at the highest level and are mounting a challenge if it goes ahead.

There is also a large group who have taken legal advance on advance fee arrangements and implemented these accordingly.

There are not plenty of any kind of spaces near us.
This is very area dependent.

Aww @Shaketherombooga , I’m genuinely sorry you have a chip on your shoulder.

Sadly the vat won’t fix state schools. Like many, we’ll just pay it, but there’s many hard working people spending every last penny on the fees and your mentality has meant lots of children won’t get a good education now. Hope it makes you feel good though!

Same as us! We aren’t going to just spend the money - it’ll be used to buy houses as rentals for our pensions, or we’ll put the money into our pensions. We won’t just be wafting it away into the economy on frivolous
spending! Personally as a family, the 20% increase will cost the taxpayers more for us as we will be using our state school places and we’ll be very considered with the money we are now saving so we can use it for our future.

I’ll either put the full 500k into a pension and pay no tax

Hows that? The annual limit on tax free pension savings is £60k.
https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/annual-allowance

Same.

@Ciri which school? Hills Road? All the independent schools and the best state schools are stuffed with parents who work at the university and Addenbrookes. Not just Hills Road.