How soon might a Labour Government put 20% VAT tax on private school fees?

[jennylamb1]

That really. Given that an election date has been declared for July, how soon might a Labour Government set their first budget?

I also agree with this.

It’s not a tax break, that’s complete nonsense. Education is VAT exempt just like many other things are. You wouldn’t say you’re enjoying the tax break every time you stuff a cake in your mouth would you? Furthermore, independent schools save the taxpayer money. No one is subsidising them.

Many UK universities have opened overseas branches to allow them to offer courses to Asian and African students who cannot afford the cost of living for three or four years in the UK.

If VAT is applied to university fees at home, it would be logical that UK students will take up a lot of those overseas places to avoid the tax. They would be very appealing - same culture of learning, based in English language, with the same high ranked universities.

We operate in a global market. The only loser would be the Treasury. More unintended consequences. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Yes. There is VAT exemption on lots of things. But most things aren't VAT exempt. Those that are exempt have value reasons for being exempt - normally that taxing them would be regressive because it disproportionately affects the poor, or because they are considered life essentials.

Private education is neither.

I don't pay VAT on biscuits, but i do pay VAT on chocolate biscuits. Do you see the difference?

There are absolutely value reasons for education being VAT exempt which is why it’s against EU law to charge VAT on education. Not sure you can say the same about cakes though!

it’s really simple - any spending on education is an investment and benefits a future worker and therefore society. That’s why.

you are not enjoying a tax break every time you buy a tutor for your child who is a year, two years etc behind in maths. But you SHOULD get a tax break for it since that is an investment in your child and a future worker, and would support struggling teachers and schools.

added to that, you know what your child needs best - if they want drama lessons and school doesn’t have drama, ideal thing to subsidise, encourage investment in and not tax…

we’ll have to disagree though @hamsterno1 I reckon.

income tax is an existing and progressive lever and doesn’t target education spending specifically.

have you seen the huge numbers of young people not working due to mh issues? Unlike the tories I don’t think this is a laziness snowflake crisis, we have a huge SEN/mh crisis and this policy isn’t going to improve it we’re simply going to fail more kids in the name of fairness.

I think VAT on university is entirely predicable. Sector is in crisis and needs more money. Private fees being vat able sets a precedent.

Kier has just said on Today that VAT was ‘as soon as it could be done’ and ‘a day one priority’

And it’s all wrong, we do education well in the UK on every level, we should be encouraging diversity, growing parents investing in extras for their children and giving parents more support to invest, not smacking it down and worsening the state funding crisis because ‘fair’.

very few argue that using the private sector to cut nhs wait lists should be stopped as it’s not fair - they should do the same with the education crisis, leverage the private resources and not try and curtail it.

bit somehow education is less important than health despite huge crises in both.

We will have to disagree.

I completely agree with you on MH issues, SEN provision and everything else.

But those are not solved by an 'up and out' approach.

Yes spending on education is an investment in the future, which is why everyone deserves the opportunity to have one, not just those who can afford it.

And those that can afford it can afford to pay tax on the service just as they do everything else. There will be people at the margins but there are people at the margins now who can't quite afford the fees. What are you doing about their access to arts and drama?

What about the SEN kids that the private schools don't want?

I get why you feel the way you do, and I don't blame you. But don't kid yourself that somehow you are benefitting all mankind.

Also most tutors and music teachers don't charge VAT because they are not multi-million pound businesses sitting on massive property wealth and investments.

Why would they improve? We will use the money saved in fees to pay for stuff for our children - theatre trips, foreign holidays, music lessons, riding lessons, tennis lessons, extra tuition. The state will pay to educate a child it previously didn’t and our son has taken a place at a grammar that might otherwise have give to a less privileged child.

But neither are most private schools - my dcs’ school doesn’t have massive wealth either…most do them aren’t Eton.

if this policy was part of a package of better policies, I wouldn’t be so angry but it’s a dog fight with no actual plan to really improve state education.

state parents should be angry - woefully underfunded schools with limited subjects and no plan here except a grab of a paltry £1bn at best!

You only have to see the contempt with which teachers in the UK are regarded, to understand that the majority of Brits do not value education.

@hamsterno1 yes everyone deserves to have a decent education but this policy will do nothing to help those who aren’t receiving a decent education and will harm some of those that are.

And @Blackcats7 plenty of rich people do already use state schools - better funding improves state schools not really parents!

Yes! Please save your school fees and give that money to the theatre, or pay a local self-employed person or small business. Please divert that money into local arts and sports provision.

Also love the idea that all private school parents think it's the grammar places they'd automatically be taking.

School Teachers, university teachers - I hear some people talk about academics as if they’re just in the way of handing out a degree to their dc.

everyone should be able to invest in their children and have some say in that investment, I quite agree on that. And better policies could make it happen.

but how long before we tax tutors, music teachers etc? It’s all an unfair unaffordable luxury to some.

Invest away, just pay tax like everyone else.

But you’re not paying tax on education are you @hamsterno1 so that argument doesn’t work..

@hamsterno1 Response from the Lib Dem education spokesperson.

“Dear [ ]

Thank you for writing to me on your concerns over Labour’s pledge to remove the exemption from VAT on independent school fees.

First and foremost, I would like to assure you that as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, Children & Young People, I - along with my Lib Dem colleagues - do not support ending the VAT exemption for independent schools, for the simple reason that we should not tax education. Education is essential, and for the public good - and as liberals, we believe it is important that parents are given choice when it comes to their children’s education. You may find of interest the speech I made when this matter was debated in Parliament, the full text of which you can read in the debate transcript, here.

On a wider note, our ambition is for all state education to be of such a high standard, that no parent will feel particularly compelled to send their child to an independent school. I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues want to see an education system that enables every individual, no matter their background or their needs, to flourish, succeed and fulfil their potential, with a level playing field for all pupils, wherever they are educated.

We would like to see all independent schools giving back to their local education community, as many already do, through partnership with state schools. In our own constituency, and beyond, there are wonderful examples of these kind of partnerships - such as between Hampton School and Lady Eleanor Holles School, and the REACH Academy in Feltham. We want to see this kind of best practice - such as the sharing of specialist facilities or teachers, clubs and higher education support - replicated across the sector.

It is our strong belief that removing the VAT exemption from independent schools would reduce this kind of partnership work - which benefits both the state and independent sectors - and would also hit parents who have felt that, for whatever reason, the state sector cannot meet their children’s needs, particularly children with additional needs. As MP for Twickenham, I am aware of many examples of families who have struggled to raise the funds necessary to send their child - who may have experienced difficulty in a state school - to an independent school which could meet their needs, and enable them to thrive. You may be interested to read the intervention I made on this subject, here.

Please be assured that my colleagues and I will continue to fight for all education provided by an eligible body to remain exempt from VAT, or any other tax.

Thank you once again for writing to me on this important matter.

With kind regards

Munira

MUNIRA WILSON MP
Member of Parliament for Twickenham
(including The Hamptons, Teddington, St Margarets, Strawberry Hill and Whitton)”

We tax them when they're a registered business earning over £85k.

It's not hard.

Exercise is also considered a public good and an 'investment in the future' but you still pay VAT at David Lloyd, but not your local council gym.

" VAT is not charged on sports activities delivered on a non-profit basis, so if a gym doesn't make a profit, its members don't pay VAT on membership fees. However, profit-making gyms, like Pure Gym with its million members, are forced to charge VAT. It's estimated that one in seven people in the UK is a member of a gym."

Well said, worth reposting, Inthought.

And many private schools also don’t make a profit @hamsterno1 .

I suppose I’d better get to work! For now 😂