AIBU to reconsider a long friendship over support for education tax?

[CoconutRumcake]

A close friend of over 15 years last night unashamedly said she supported the children’s education tax. To put this in context, she is godmother to my ds and has seen first hand what damage this has done to children and families as well as her own sister losing her job when the school closed. She had maybe drank too much and has apologised over text this morning, but I really can’t shake the feeling that I don’t want to be around her.
AIBU -try and move past it
YANBU -it’s run it’s time

OP, the notice you are pointing to is from 2017. It is longstanding guidance covering the VAT treatment on education. It was updated last year to cover the private school VAT changes. There isn’t another 20% “education tax” hiding in there

Quite right about children's education being a bedrock. Fortunately private education isn't the bedrock. It's not vital.

They do pay a tax that benefits others. They pay a chunk of income tax towards state education that they don’t use which benefits others.

A single parent needs to be earning around 140k for each year their child is in school to cover the cost of their education. Clearly the vast majority don’t earn that meaning subsidies from those who don’t use the state sector, including those whose the price sector, is vast.

In the old days - a difference of opinion meant you agree to disagree.

now - everyone is cancelled / blocked / made no contact if they don’t agree with you 100%

must be a pretty lonely life nowadays for people who carry on like this.

If I remember rightly there was talk of someone explaining to their kid 'why their friend wanted her school to close down..' in order to make the child upset presumably. And make her hate this friend for holding a perfectly reasonable view.

Nobody ever once said they 'wanted a school to close down'. If the school closed down it's because it failed.

‘but you do have to question what type of person thinks like that though…’

What type of person? Perhaps someone who actually cares more about the wellbeing of society as a whole, than their own bank balance being slightly less because they now have to pay tax on a luxury beyond the dreams of the majority.

What type of person? Somebody infinitely less selfish than you.

Absolutely this. Right wing clap trap about spite and the politics of envy driving this are utterly ridiculous and say more about the people claiming them than the people who want these schools to stop pretending they are anything other then the businesses that they are. OP, you are very unreasonable for making her political view all about yourself.

It’s not a misapprehension. It’s a tax on children’s education and vocation training, it’s incredibly simple and straight forward. I don’t really see the point in arguing about what’s in black and white, you can take it up with HMRC if you wish to discuss further (good luck with that):

www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-education-and-vocational-training-notice-70130

That’s akin to saying if someone is struggling financially in the current economic climate they are a failure.

Previous posters are trying to explain to you that this is not a tax on ALL "children’s education and vocational training". All that's happened is that the Government have removed the VAT exemption for PAID education - as per this paragraph from the link you keep posting:

Education provided for no charge
If the education is being provided for no charge (for example, local authority maintained schools, city technology colleges, sixth form colleges, academies and free schools, see paragraph 3.2). The VAT consequences are that this is not ‘in business’ for VAT purposes (see section 3) and:

• the education provided is outside the scope of VAT
• any closely related goods or services provided, at or below cost, are outside the scope of VAT
• the sales of other goods or services are taxed in the normal way

well stop being friends with her then and give her a bit of peace. Poor woman.

Did you go to private school yourself OP? Because I would have expected you to have a better grasp of basic English grammar if so.

But I, and many others, think it is a good thing.

I also have friends who think like you do. It doesn’t stop me being friends with them. We just agree to disagree and talk about other things.

Quite clearly, the type of person who thinks a 20% tax on children’s education is a good things. A pretty thick and spiteful type of person.

End it, you will be doing them a favour tbh.

I think @GreenAndPurplePeople has already answered this.

When 90 something percent of the population do not have to pay it, because they use state funded education, arguing that this is anything other than a tax on your decision and ability to pay for private education doesn’t really work…

You can end a friendship any time you like.

… then I think you need to read the policy again as it clearly states that this applies solely to the private sector. It is disingenuous to claim it as a tax on education. It does not apply to state education which you can access free of charge if your choice of private education is too expensive for you.

In a country where it’s public services are on their knees raising taxes by removing charitable tax breaks from businesses that are clearly not charities, seems to most of the people I know, an extremely fair way of raising money. I say this as someone who has had 4 kids in the private school system with 2 still there.

Well yes, I’m not sure how a 20% tax on zero would work. Thanks for your contribution.

Exactly. All the schools whose closures I read about were already not thriving financially

Mate. Get a grip.

I mean you keep calling your friend’s views ‘thick’ and ‘stupid’, and yet you are failing rather spectacularly to understand what this tax is. Add to that the various written errors in your posts that others have pointed out, I can only assume that you have decided to pay for your children’s education in the desperate hope that they don’t end up as dense as you.

Wow.

It’s not “taxing children’s education and closing down schools”

OP, if you want a proper debate, use facts and accuracy, not sweeping opinions that are flawed. Also if you articulate what you want to say coherently you will find the responses more relatable

This is pure gold 😂