Petition -Don't apply VAT to independent school fees, or remove business rates relief.

[MeAmy]

Hi
Sharing this to you if you wish to sign on and share other parents if their children go to independent schools
Thank you.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701268

signed!!!

What a totally pointless waste of time such a petition is.

The government already knows that approx 5% of the population (about 3.5 million people) are private school fee payers who would probably prefer not to pay more tax.

Meanwhile about 10 million people voted labour with them standing with a manifesto that promised to do this, and a further 30 million didn't vote at all presumably because they don't care enough to do so. Even if every single person affected by the VAT fees signed the petition (and many people affected agree that they should pay more tax anyway) it woukd still be antidemocratic to pay a moment's attention to such a petition.

There are plenty of reasons to criticise the policy: the fact that virtually no civilised country ever taxes the good and beneficial activity of education (it would be possible to tax the luxuries of the schools that have outstanding sports and leisure facilities separately from the education), the fact that the blanket approach is having a crippling effect on non-profitmaking schools that specialise in arts, languages or supporting pupils with additional needs, the fact that this isn't an equitable way to tax the rich and other kinds of tax increases targeted on those with a spare £20k-£100k per year in excess of their living costs (regardless of whether they spend that on school fees or something else) would be more sensible. However "I want to keep my wealth for myself" is a ridiculous reason and this petition has no merit.

I'm so over this!

9.6mil voted labour, 15mil voted conservatives + reform + Lib Dem, all oppose tax on education. To say any petition is antidemocracy is madness in itself. Just another labour voter who makeup facts.

Signed, thanks.

A debate in Parliament would not be a waste of time. The very significant problems could be discussed, the bill adjusted to mitigate the worst consequences, and new evidence on already-observed impacts and extrapolated consequences considered in order to make an evidence-based decision on whether it should go ahead or not.

Unless of course the government doesn't care what arguments there are against it, doesn't care whether it will raise money, and doesn't care about the serious consequences. And instead just want the self-righteous feel-good of punishing a small group of people they hate.

Which certainly isn't how a parliamentary democracy is meant to work.

So what do you think: is the UK a functioning parliamentary democracy - open to parliamentary debate and discussion in order to make the best possible laws?

Even if they don’t change their minds, it's still not a waste of time, because the arguments will then be in Hansard and they won't be able to deny that the harms were foreseen and they were warned. Hmm.. wonder why they might not want that?

Incidentally, you might want to consider the importance of loser's consent in democracy... and what makes that ongoing consent more or less likely.

There's already been a debate in parliament. And a vote. This is an entirely pointless exercise, but whatever.

No other countries in Europe impose vat on schools. This is one of the very important points that government should discuss. They should impose double or triple vat on luxury products on Ferrari car etc etc.

This particular issue doesn't affect me one way or the other, but I don't agree that petitions are a waste of time. It is a form of peaceful protest, and for raising issues and registering dissatisfaction. We are allowed to have and express opinions, and to bring them to the attention of the government, and petitions are one way of doing so.