Private school : VAT : labour

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I have recently come across this petition. Not sure if many of you have seen this.

https://www.change.org/p/stop-labour-from-adding-20-vat-to-private-school-fees-and-forcing-kids-to-change-schools?recruiter=false&utmsource=shareepetition&utmcampaign=psffcomboshareeinitial&utmmedium=whatsapp&utmmcontent=washarecopy376858822en-GB%3Acv451328&recruiteddbyid=44b8f4b0-d22c-11ee-82d6-61cc5900aa84&shareebanditexp=initial-37685882-en-GB

Next, Labour should tax private healthcare. Enough, is enough.

Consultant in NHS. State educated. Couldn’t make state education work for children due to responsibility of Job, mental load and irregular hours and no available after school care for tweens/teens. Especially post covid no home schooling in our house, worked all the way through. Choice is drop to 50% half time and halve commitment to on call cover on a rota with gaps already worsening care for patients when we are already depleted and over stretched the same as my (female) colleagues with children in state. Or continue full time as better for society and professional provision. But have wrap around care for my kids. Similar to all of my full time (female) colleagues. Otherwise no sport, no bus home in a rural area , no pastoral care etc etc. well-being issue. No affordable private Ed with 30% rise (yes it does come with choices of what we can do as a family but that’s our choice) means glass ceiling back over many professional working women. Agree with levelling up. But not like this please. Many unintended consequences. Super rich will always be fine. I can’t do my job without my kids being looked after. I have tried. Honest perspective I work evenings weekends and full time during the week on top with significant level of responsibility. Broke me when kids not looked after.

Typo obv 20% 🙄

Unfortunately according to Starmer’s definition you’re not a working person so you don’t count.

The entire policy proposal is a mess. They know it doesn’t work and won’t deliver what they want but they’ve over committed themselves and don’t know how to backtrack without losing face.

I find it so depressing that a government will likely follow through with a policy that causes such harm just so they can say they delivered what they promised. I just hope the OBR are involved and carry out an impact assessment. I suspect they may not be supportive.

I've run the projections with VAT and it makes for grim reading. I'm an IT consultant and I'm fighting for my life at work, if I do get binned then the prospects of earning a similar rate are very small.

IR35 has changed my finances greatly since we decided to try private school for the children, in fact there are financial impacts everywhere which is why our cars are so old and I maintain them myself, it all helps.

This policy is disgusting, private education should be made more accessible not less, in Germany I know a gardener who sent his kids to private school because the state sends his contribution to the school so he just needs to pay a top up. Now that is what social policy looks like not pandering to ill informed begrudgers.

Don't forget every private school child has a tax paying parent entitled to a state place. I foresee huge damage being inflicted on a sector which took generations to build and the Etons of the world won't be affected one iota.

Just to point out that they have delayed it until 25/26 now.
Most likely because now they are actually looking at the details they are realising it isn't as easy as they thought. A point we have been trying to tell them for 12 months but they weren't listening!
If only Labour had actually engaged with the independent sector. Bridget Philipson has refused, yes refused, to visit any independent school. What does that tell anyone?

I thought Reeves had confirmed that it would be in her first Budget, but not applied retrospectively. So the commencement date may not be until the next school year (though could be earlier), but it will be on the statute books as part of the autumn Finance Bill.

Many thanks for this info, I was about to pay a year in advance which would involve borrowing money from my parents, something which I really didn't want to do.

I'd have been very surprised if it was any earlier than 2025 tbh!

Well all the rhetoric had been "Day 1" which a lot of people fell for but yes, those of us who knew how complicated it would be had thought no earlier than April/Sept 25. It is good to finally get clarification though, reduces the panic.

Yes it requires planning! Personally I don't have a problem with removing the VAT exempt status though

Viewed in isolation I can see why many people wouldn't care, but there will be consequences for everyone.

I'd like the pool facilities paid for by the state school rather than provided fee in future, for example.

Also what's the point? If it's to stick it to the Eton crowd then that's just pandering to ignorance. In any case the headline savings will simply never be reached, clumsy maths calculation with no contingency factored in for the inevitable consequences.

Also there was this point made elsewhere:
While the majority of private schools are not for profit, and possibly charities (subject to certain rules). The majority of nurseries are private profit making organisations.

It seems I'm addition to imposing the VAT om private schools, labour is also intent on raising idiots in state schools.
The teaching union has demanded no times table tests, removing difficult grammar questions and an updated curriculum which is easier to teach (essentially ensuring our kids remain way behind private school kids).

I am ruing voting Labour. Anyone else has buyers regret?

No because thankfully I didn't vote for them. A chunk of their votes came from people pissed off with the Tories rather than actively voting Labour.
I got attacked many times on here for dating to criticise 1 Labour policy so that pretty much in itself (along with the VAT thing) convinced me not to vote for them, they can't stand being criticised or scrutinised.

Well you can hardly blame people for being pissed off with the shit show of privately educated idiots who've been in government for the last 14 years!