VAT on school fees (you have to read this!)

[EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime]

Government’s private schools VAT raid ‘could cost taxpayer £1.8bn’

Parents who are forced out of sector are likely to work less or even quit jobs, according to think tank research.

Adam Smith Institute.

The shit show of privately educated idiots who've governed for the last 14 years are hardly a good advert for an expensive education ....

Here endeth the debate.

Where are the rest of your mates today? They’re being very quiet.

Oh wait, that’s probably because most of them work - for the public sector.

Its my thread - I’m the one to call it closed.

Amen.

“It's only Mumsnetters who are working their fingers to the bone to scrape the fees.”

Go tell my Chinese neighbour that, definitely not on MN and definitely now sending the younger DC to state school and will move the older on.

Yeap, imperious, overbearing, bossy, can't handle anyone disagreeing with them is another trademark of them!

@pintofsnakebite - I am also a grammar parent and I take up for grammar schools. Because I care about the school’s efforts, the teachers there etc, the community and what they have built.

But I guess HYPOCRISY is at the heart of everything Labour supporters do. Bit like Socialist Russia, one rule for the big boss, other rules for the rest.

I don't understand what your neighbour being Chinese has to do with it.

And I have no problem with her choosing a state school for her children.

And by the way, these threads are never going to end as it is just like Brexit all over again!

“I don't understand what your neighbour being Chinese has to do with it.”

It is called a cultural difference. She firmly believes that an investment in education is the best you can possibly do for your child.

I don't believe it's hypocrisy to do what is best for your child.

It is hypocrisy to suggest it is anything else though.

Governments are there to make decisions for all of society because individuals cannot or will not.

Do you know anything about economics? Have you heard of public goods?

Yep, as the ISC states the current average day school fees are £18k.

This time last year the Telegraph was lamenting that middle class parents were being priced out by soaring school fees and stagnant wages.

Day fees jumped from £7,199 (£4,182 in nominal terms) to £15,654, meaning fees today account for 23.7pc of the disposable income of the wealthiest 10pc of households in Britain. That compares to 15.9pc in 1997.

https://archive.ph/Pffjj

So probably best to take Telegraph articles with a pinch of salt.

ETA: @noblegiraffe

@SabrinaThwaite - I did take the Telegraph article with a pinch of salt, as stated originally. But having done the Maths, applying my basic Maths and using the tax calculator online, it is pretty obvious what will happen.

So let’s just tell all the private school lot to move their kids state and go work for the public sector, shall we now?

This is why having more parents and children like her in the state system will benefit everyone.

Because there are plenty of parents who feel that way who don't make the fees.

This assumption that only private school parents prioritise education is grossly offensive.

And no, it wasn't 'cultural differences' you were pointing out, it was lazy stereotyping you thought we would all understand.

Again @pintofsnakebite - I am a state school parent. There is not much difference between me and my Chinese neighbour, who is a real person you know. I suppose at least she has a cultural history of Big Brother so maybe she can handle it more than I give her credit for. Cultural assumptions et al.

Quite

“Do you know anything about economics? Have you heard of public goods?”

@pintofsnakebite - of course I have. And Education is one of them. A fundamental one too. A bit like Freedom of Movement was.

Do not assume that some of us are PS parents. This policy loses a ton of LibDem voters who may have voted Labour last time. It is incredibly offensive to tax education and mess with the state education sector as a direct consequence of that.

This assumption that only private school parents prioritise education is grossly offensive. *

Yes, that's been suggested on this thread, laughable really. And the other one is that state school parents must be envious - err, why would I be envious of someone needing to pay shedloads of money for their kids to do well? It would make more sense the other way round.... no doubt if I needed to pay school fees on top of my taxes I'd be jealous of those who didn't.

@Araminta1003

In 2009 it was a cost of living crisis that was causing parents to pull kids out and schools to close or merge.

archive.ph/uykdI

Last year it was parents priced out by stagnant wages / soaring school fees.

This year it’s VAT.

I also don't quite understand the OP's obsession with the public sector whilst other people are suggesting the NHS is propping up private schools single handedly.

If the public start hating Labour as much as they came to hate the Tories, we are all utterly screwed because faith in the system disintegrates further. This is exactly why divisive policies like WFA and VAT on school fees are an incredibly bad idea. What they should be doing is building up confidence in the system, celebrating that we are not as badly off and are growing etc etc
Instead they are droning on about black holes. I call bullshit. There was a journalist in the FT (a balanced paper) that explained very clearly why there is no real black hole and it is a way of looking at it. It is just a sham to raise taxes and blame the Tories.

When the hell will people wake up and realise that these nasty politicians are just attention seeking and doom mongering to cause division and garner votes in a divisive partisan Red vs Blue system? Not putting the country first, not putting the young or old first and on and on it goes.

Therefore, as a liberal there is no way in hell I will support something like WFA or VAT on education.

Is this sarcastic? It's the opposite.

@kirinm "
Is this sarcastic? It's the opposite"
Sorry-forgot to use the sarcasm font!🤣

Two words: Liz Truss

She went to a Leeds comp. If you look at the common factor between today’s politicians it’s Oxford. Maybe we should start imposing VAT on Oxford’s fees.

And it’s not just Tory politicians that Oxford dominates…

Judging by the number of threads on the secondary education board asking about private schools I don't think the numbers using them are going to drop much any time soon.

As for this so-called "research" based on entirely unevidenced theories of what people "might" do - don't make me laugh.

If private schools do all collapse and I have to pay more tax because all children are in state schools I shall consider that money well spent.