VAT on school fees - High Court Challenge.

[EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime]

Labour’s plan to impose VAT on private school fees in January faces a High Court legal challenge over claims it breaches human rights law.

Lawyers have written to HM Treasury arguing the policy discriminates against special needs children and has threatened court action if it is not dropped.

Showtime…

Around half of private schools in the UK aren’t allowed to generate a profit

🤔

+1

If you can afford to pay for a service, you can afford to pay the VAT on it. Enough of these snivelling tax-dodgers asking for subsidies.

So it's not subsidised by the public.. because unlike Holland and Finland the government doesn't fund a child's education at their non-state school.

And they're now facing a VAT tax-penalty, unlike Dutch and Finnish schools (and any other schools anywhere in the world)

And 70% of UK private schools aren't allowed to make a profit from fees.

What exactly are you +1 - ing ?

Populist rhetoric is always satisfying, I suppose - even when it's nonsense.

As someone once said on here - if you can afford to go to Butlins I guess you can afford to go to the Maldives?

Yep - so I'm a tax dodging 45% tax rate payer?

What a nice person you are, unlike those arrogant wankers who happen to be your nephews.

So you are in support of fully harmonised vat on goods and services?

This would cut evasion significantly.

@Ubertomusic - that pp is quoting other posters from another thread, to counter the claim that there isn't much unpleasantness on these threads towards private school children. She isn't saying those things herself.

@Werweisswohin

In fact, most privileged families sit on their cash and send their children to top performing state schools. That is a luxury.

And it is subsidised by a much smaller number of families that pay independent school fees. First, through taxation and not taking up a place in (top performing) state schools for their own children. Second, by paying into a bursary/scholarship kitty that keeps about a third of privately educated children out of the state sector.

Oh I'm sorry then. Missed quite a few posts on the road.

Oh I'm sorry then. Missed quite a few posts on the road.

That’s fine - I should’ve highlighted the quotes in bold.
CurlewKate claimed very few posters sneered at privately educated children but I’ve read loads of such comments of which I posted just a few. There were many more on that thread saying much the same thing.
Sneering at children who go to private school seems wholly acceptable on mn - even a teacher said it was fine as it was ‘punching up’.

Let's harmonise @20% vat as rayonsunrise mentioned.

Let's say just on services:

• financial services (things I have seen on MN "only rich people use financial services" insurance is a financial service...those rich care workers and delivery drivers)
• travel... Buses, taxis, trains and airfares currently are vat exempt
• residential accommodation... 20% on rent from January.

Or across the board

• children's clothes
• food & books
• domestic energ

@Werweisswohin

"Which will hopefully change."

I don't understand- so you want private schools to make a profit?

But if private schools don't make a profit then it is largely irrelevant whether they are charities or not because they won't be paying any corporation tax if they don't make a profit?

Charities and governments don't make profits by definition, they have a surplus.

The charity status effects a wide array of taxation treatments including non domestic rates for example.

In that case, let’s tax private nurseries, care homes, universities, private health care etc. After all, if people can afford to pay for those things, they can afford an overnight 20% hike in prices.

The thread is titled “VAT on school fees”. If it’s a subject which bores you, it seems a strange thread to open and read, let alone comment on. I tend to ignore the threads which are quite clearly about issues which don’t interest me.

Oh come off it, that isn't what I mean and you know it. My point was that the argument only holds water if there was no SEN provision in the state sector. I was acknowledging the fact that SEN provision in the state sector is often inadequate. Which more funding in the state sector would help improve.

What I envisage with this thread is a whole load of people who've never given a flying fuck about SEN provision jumping on the bandwagon as a way to argue a case against being charged VAT.

😂😂 Aren’t you a charmer? Did you learn your way with words at private school?

All so altruistic and not selfish at all.
🫣

Nobody should be sneering at children simply because of their parents attitudes.

Yes, please tax these things.

Private schools should not be exempt from taxation.

Another one just a few posts up at 22:38
"I don't care about your little darlings"

I think people like @CurlewKate are so used to it being acceptable to make really nasty comments about private school children that they don't even notice it.

It's very noticeably one-sided.