Labour’s plans for VAT on Private Schools

[Busydadof2]

The Labour Party has proposed introduction of VAT on private schools.

In the scheme of things the money they will bring in from this is tiny compared with total expenditure on state schools, while it will drive more burden on the state system as some parents leave private schools. I think this is a populist ploy to get traditional Labour voters to vote for what is in any other sense a centrist party.

Have you considered signing this petition to make sure the policy gets scrutinised and the weight of public sentiment against it is known?

Change.org petition: Stop Labour from adding 20% VAT to private school fees and forcing kids to change schools

www.change.org/p/stop-labour-from-adding-20-vat-to-private-school-fees-and-forcing-kids-to-change-schools

Various perspectives from the signatories of this vote come to mind and resonate with our own situation, including this: “I work in a state school with over 30 in a class and oversubscribed. My 2 kids went or go to private schools and we have sacrificed loads to do this. We are NOT wealthy, many of the kids at the school I work at live in bigger houses and have much more disposable income than we do. We chose to send our kids to private school rather than live in a bigger house instead of our semi detached on a main road. We holiday in the UK every year and I work full time. I buy my clothes on the high street or in charity shops. Many parents at the school my kids attend are in exactly the same situation. I agree there are some very wealthy parents there too and the addition of VAT will not even make an impact on them, they will pay it without batting an eyelid. All this will do is push the kids like ours back into an already oversubscribed state system, increase class sizes even more and create a bigger divide as private education will become truly elitist.”

I’m in North Hampshire and can name two local colleges that offer a’levels. And another that is further away that lots of local teens access, travelling by train

your child wants to do an a level combination that isn’t available locally. Instead of choosing a different option you are choosing to go private. You don’t have to, if you couldn’t afford it he’d have to choose a different combination. It’s a luxury.

I wonder if the people who insist this is only about jealousy are totally ruled by their own emotions. It seems like they can't conceive any higher motivations, such as equality or justice.

Yep. Private education is a luxury and should be taxed as this.

Inability to pay for something means you don't get it. Why should private education be different?

Equality and justice?

You forget these people are statistically already contributing proportionately far more in taxes to society!

Could you imagine if everyone in society paid the same higher tax rate! If many of you are so keen to fund the state school system, why don't they suggest to labour the basic rate of tax increases by 5% and is ring fenced for education. They won't. Their amusing explanation will be for those already paying higher percentage tax on higher income, to pay even more so they don't have to.

There are few who are aspirational and many that are not. Those who are not, simply don't like the politics of envy/jealousy label, as they aren't enlightened enough to recognise it, let alone own it.

I wonder if these people would pay more tax? Wouldn't it be nice if the burden was shared equitably!

Labour have realised their ‘fully costed’ green policy wasn’t anywhere near that BS phrase and watered down Nom Dom one because it was equally shite

Two down, this one to go if they have any sense

It was costed when it was announced. Then along came the treasonous Brexit deal and the economic genius of Truss.

Would you rather they didn't do grown up reviews and just shit lies like we've become accustomed to over the last 14 years?

Do you care about the education of the gas engineer and midwife's kids who go to state school as they can't afford private or only the ones who do (because those price increases are also going to affect you)? Most aren't gleeful at the thought of kids moving schools but the reality is that those who can't afford it any more just have to do what those who can't afford it already do... send their kids to state school. It's hardly sending their kids up chimneys is it? I suppose they will then have state education vomited on to them - that does sound unpleasant tbh (much like you).

@LoveSandbanks your child wants to do an a level combination that isn’t available locally. Instead of choosing a different option you are choosing to go private. You don’t have to, if you couldn’t afford it he’d have to choose a different combination. It’s a luxury.

Yes it's luxury but no more a luxury than people choosing to by a massive house and choosing state. Or buying designer clothes and choosing state. Or paying for a tutor for every subject and choosing state. But strangely it's people who sacrifice other luxuries to pay for education that seems to make you irate. God for if people prioritise their Education over holidays, new cars and shopping in Waitrose

@TheLostOnes

"That is the nasty, entitled, jealous society we have become in the UK"

This is sublime irony, given the correct definition of 'jealousy'.

@tutttutt and yet people buying those other luxuries are expected to pay tax on them - yet you don’t expect to pay fair tax on a private education 🙄. You can’t have it both ways.

And can we stop with this bullshit argument that if you just cut back on luxuries anyone could afford private education - it really does show how incredibly divorced from reality most people at private school are if that’s your definition of struggling, not shopping in Waitrose 🤬.

To try use posters saying the money will fund he extra teachers which state schools need have t considered the reasons why there is such a shortage of teachers.

Teachers enjoy teaching. However, there are so many reasons why people leave teaching and just because there is money to fund teachers doesn’t mean people are going to rush to teach in the state sector.

I know of a maths teacher who left her indie school to return to state teaching. A term later they asked to return as the good state school had such appalling pupil behaviour the teacher couldn’t bear it.

All the money raised from taxing private school places is not going to bring teachers back to state ed.

Labour were still trumpeting green policy in October 2023.

Truss and Brexit were a while back. They are bloody slow

lol at ‘grown up’ they’re fucking hopeless and a monkey with a calculator could see both policies were bollocks.

Hopefully this ridiculous one will follow

@Hobbi still believing in ‘fully costed’

Couldn’t agree more

@tutttutt

All the alternatives you mention are subject to tax. The only exception is the tutor if they earn less than the income tax allowance or VAT threshold. Why would tutors be an alternative though? Would privately educated children automatically struggle in a state school? If so, we certainly should be ensuring their privilege is limited.

There are few who are aspirational and many that are not. Those who are not, simply don't like the politics of envy/jealousy label, as they aren't enlightened enough to recognise it, let alone own it.

So you think that you and other private school supporters are "aspirational" and anyone who isn't, is too stupid to realise that they are just jealous?

This is exactly what I meant about being ruled by emotions. A circular argument backed up by ad hominen attacks. It's such a narrow view to take, but a very comforting one, I suspect.

One example of a teacher not being able to hack it in an ordinary school is not data.

@SouthCoastDad “You forget these people are statistically already contributing proportionately far more in taxes to society!”

Ah, so they are higher earners then - not the poor struggling taxi driver that’s always trotted out on these threads to pretend that private schools are socially diverse 🙄

Maybe if less people went to private school, more of the country would put pressure on the government to better fund state schools. Why would they care when they are able to afford the best? Same with healthcare

You’ll still get elite affording private

MC that can’t will buy better state his entrance and house price

They already do. There is no extra pressure due to this - beyond competition locally to get in

Yes, they started a review of policies last quarter. This is so the manifesto would be honest. Unlike every single pledge in the last three government manifestos. The initial announcement was 2019. Although I'm disappointed that the damage done to the economy by the Tories is even worse than predicted, it's surely refreshing that a prospective government is choosing not to lie like the incumbents.

Yes, the rich are all super aspirational and it’s just their aspiration that got them where they are.

Not their elite education, private tutoring, high net worth network of friends and the ability to study whatever/wherever they want whilst not worrying about failing over and over again as they have family money to fall back on.

Nothing to do with that, just their aspirations!

You sound a lot like my “self made” work colleague who grew up in an estate worth 10 mil

They shouldn’t trumpet fully costed policies at conferences without checking they actually are

As for the nom dom one that was blindingly obvious. I could see it and it took them a year to change from scrapping to ‘modernising’

It’s clear they are slow and a bit shit at realising impacts of policies such as this one

Yes, it's always 'we're not wealthy, just work hard and make sacrifices', followed embarrassingly quickly by 'don't you know how much tax we pay already?' and 'we will make the catchments for great schools too expensive for the rest of you'.

Where are all the state school parents, suggesting to Labour the bottom two rates of income tax are increased to fund state education!

The silent majority...but let's hound those already paying more into society to take the load off those...who already pay less into society...making sure their free "entitled" rights and services are delivered in the act.

Society needs to take collective ownership. I would be happy to pay more in tax to fund services, so long as everyone in society does the same and not sit silently while a few pick up the tab for the many.

That is one of the reasons this country is in a mess. If we could switch the mindset of entitlement to ownership, society would be more equitable and productive.

It would suit labour better to go after tax dodging multinationals by closing loopholes so tax is paid relative to sales activity in the jurisdiction. This tax could be a game changer because it is instant, no rebates applied etc and they could go after them for several years tax on legacy profits.

This policy is purely a soundbite which has not been costed. Again, what delta is the VAT rebates going back years going to be for every private school of circa 40% of expenditure?

That alone will be a net cost of multi millions, added to the additional £16Million CEA bill.

Labour have already u-turned on several badly costed policies, and whist I do not believe this will be dropped, the value gain will not be worth it.

I support the imposition of VAT on private school fees, not because I believe that the money is going to massively benefit the state sector (if only) but because our country, as a matter of principle, shouldn’t be giving tax breaks to private businesses that perpetuate inequality.

If I ever decide to send my kids to private school then the additional cost is something I’d just have to suck up, along with all of the many other additional costs that come along with buying privilege for your kids.