If labour win the election can they introduce VAT immediately?

[londonparent321]

(For school fees) Or do they need to go through the courts which could take years /never happen?

@OOBetty yes

This has been recommended as a perfectly legal way forward if your school is a charity. Although not surprisingly oobetty hasn’t given all the info, wouldn’t want to give L the heads up 🤣

I can’t respond @pootleq5 as to why you have no knowledge of it.

This will, unfortunately, hit some more than others.
Labour really hasn’t thought through the wider implications they are just counting up their potential votes.

It really amuses me when people suggest they haven’t thought through wider implications. You think you have a better grip on how things work than a political party?
Plus the ‘counting up the votes’ thing is what is supposed to happen in a democracy. They are supposed to win votes by offering a majority what they want.

Agree.
Recommendations from various financial and legal bodies.
Although to really benefit you need to be a higher wage earner. Those that pay monthly drawn out over, I think, 12 months without a lump sum to start with won’t see the benefit. Unless schools average out the benefit for all.

ps.
yes ours claim gift aid too and have been since ours started many many years ago, nothing new in that.
No idea what for though and no idea how the fees are portioned to do so.

The wider implications as a PP noted for her sen child.
I have to assume Labour have considered them, I hope they have. But in so doing they have obviously considered Labours vote gain is worth the loss to PPs child ( and others ).

Very sad.

Where do you live, I can't think of one thing the many private schools do for our City schools.

Oo. I’m desperate to say but I’m not giving anything away here as that’s too outing. Yes we are a city. Yes we are a very old school as was our previous one.

I’m guessing @ODubhshlaine s school is Kings Canterbury from what has been discribed, a beautiful school second oldest in the world in a World Heritage site
My nephew did the 1:1s at the local primary on Wednesday afternoons. Just guessing though, don’t want to out you @ODubhshlaine

I've just started the EHCP process for DD.

She's in a state comprehensive right now, but I want to ensure I have belt and braces in place before 6th form choices.

@user149799568 It’s not 100% certain that living in an expensive area gets you a great school. Many schools are variable and don’t stay “good”. Many schools in less expensive areas are “good” for several inspections. There’s no guarantee you will get a great school anywhere. So therefore there is an element of a lottery in moving to an area you think has a great school or should have a great school.

Countries with excellent state education don’t have as many private schools for obvious reasons.
The solution is obvious
Improve state schools.

We live near two excellent grammars that siphon off all the kids who have been privately tutored to get in for years. They’re not the cleverest kids, just the ones with aspirational parents that know how to play the game and have the means for 1:1 tutoring. The other schools are ‘needs improvement’ or whatever it’s called.

The kids at them feel abandoned and as one kid of a friend at the girls grammar stated ‘ those kids are just thick’. I was shocked when i moved into the area and heard this disgusting remark.

If we are going to make any headway in levelling the playing field we need to get rid of academically selective tax paid state schools and improve education for all across the board.
The measly sum forecast by Labour by taxing those happy to pay twice for education won’t even touch the surface. ( especially if it just goes to free school meals and breakfast clubs as a PP mentioned )

As it stands my neighbours are rubbing their hands in anticipation of huge house price rises as we also live near a private school. There will be parents now more than happy and able to pay ridiculous prices for our houses within the grammar catchments.

This policy will fall flat on its face.

They don't claim gift aid for the fees , they claim gift aid for appeals for special projects. For example if parents donate for a new theatre or swimming pool then yes they can claim gift aid just as state schools can because for these purposes they are treated as charities . You cannot claim gift aid for the fees themselves

If for example
you are on a historic site or/ and have historic buildings and you use them as your school buildings and maintain them through fees and you are a charity then yes you can claim back money through gift aid.
If you undertake charitable works or offer premises for free at the expense of others fees then yes you can claim gift aid

Just a couple of examples there.
Im afraid you are misinformed and several parents here have already stated here their schools do so as a matter of course.

People do want to see inequalities addressed, but this policy will just serve to make inequality worse. A private education will only be affordable to an even smaller group, with an even larger wealth gap between them and everyone else. It'll be even more elitist.

Exactly @oldwhyno
It seems more like a policy the Conservatives would favour and yet here we are with Labour proposing it.

If Labour is going to tax private education, so far I still can't see a good argument why not apply to all private tutors/ tutoring schools, private music lessons, private sports lessons, etc. AT THE SAME TIME? Don't tell me it will be their next step and dodge away as the idea behind is similar and will affect much wider pool of voters. They should put them up together and let the voters decide.

If the private tuition is in a subject or area ordinarily taught in schools then currently it is exempt from tax.
However
With this proposed change by Labour then yes, it seems, all privately paid for tuition will lose that exemption.

The policy is potentially more far reaching than many appreciate.

Re the gift aid point - HMRC specifically exclude payment of school fees for a specific person so presumable you are saying this is only for donations? - I'm a governor of a small private school and that's how we work.

Re the services/facilities offered to other schools etc. If a school does that and they are not a charity then I expect they'll start charging to offset fees as much as possible.

I can absolutely assure you that so am not misinformed and in fact this has already been tested in the courts. Any suggestion that payments are obligatory as part of attendance at the school means gift aid will be denied . Voluntary payments as used by schools such as Stowe are precisely that and irrelevant to this argument .

This.

People are so short sighted to just think "tax those rich bastards". And have completely failed to make a proper analysis of the consequences for everyone.

It seems they have looked into it and decided to ignore.
Someone upthread called this a policy of envy….others have noted it as an easy vote winner.

Of course it will appeal to the masses who will not be affected, nor ever appreciate without experience the wider implications for many.

There are easy ways around fee increases but these require planning which a lot of parents can’t do.

What about the children with similar needs whose parents have never been able to afford private education in the first place? Are you equally outraged about that situation or do they not matter?

That is not true and is quite a depressing view. Many parents care about education as a whole. For those who are as you describe and who are now outraged at the thought of VAT on school fees, I have very limited sympathy.

Which bizarrely proves @TizerorFizz s point that you have little sympathy for education as a whole.