Private schools offer 'pay now' option in attempt to dodge Labour VAT raid
1 year, 1 month ago

Private schools offer 'pay now' option in attempt to dodge Labour VAT raid

The Telegraph  

Leading private schools are offering parents a “pay now” option to save money on Labour’s planned VAT charge on fees. The Sunday Times reported that schools were telling parents that existing schemes which allow them to pay fees for several years in advance could avoid the tax rise. “We did not encourage parents to use the scheme and we did not give either financial or legal advice.” Merchant Taylors’ School, in Hertfordshire, where parents pay £25,000 a year, also suggested parents could pay for fees in advance. our fees in advance scheme may provide parents with a degree of long-term assurance in the current climate.” The Sunday Times said schools had received advice from the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association that recommended telling parents that a new government could also change the rules to levy VAT at the point at which the money is spent rather than when it is handed over.

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History of this topic

After private-school tax raid Eton tells parents: We can't afford to drop our £63,000-a-year fees
1 month, 1 week ago

After private-school tax raid Eton tells parents: We can't afford to drop our £63,000-a-year fees

Daily Mail  

The new Provost of Eton College has admitted the historic school has faced multiple calls from parents to lower fees since it told them it was levying Labour’s full ‘private-school tax’ on them. Eton is one of the few leading public schools to pass the full burden of Labour’s controversial 20 per cent VAT raid on fees onto parents. Eton, …

Labour's tax raid on private tuition fees is left in CHAOS - as school heads have been unable to register for VAT on HMRC site
1 month, 1 week ago

Labour's tax raid on private tuition fees is left in CHAOS - as school heads have been unable to register for VAT on HMRC site

Daily Mail  

Labour's tax raid on private tuition fees is in disarray as school heads have been unable to register for VAT on the official UK tax website. It left schools spending hours trying to navigate the system via HMRC’s live webchat, with one adviser even admitting: ‘we don’t seem to have the systems in place’. Keir Starmer and the Labour party's …

Private school closes because of Labour VAT and NI tax raids
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Private school closes because of Labour VAT and NI tax raids

The Telegraph  

If it closes next year, Carrdus will be the tenth school to shut since The Telegraph revealed the closure of Alton School in Hampshire in May. Increased tax burden Last week’s Budget confirmed that private schools would lose their VAT exemption and business rate relief, pushing up costs that will need to be passed on to parents via higher fees. …

Labour wants to abolish private schools ‘by the back door’, headteacher claims
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Labour wants to abolish private schools ‘by the back door’, headteacher claims

The Telegraph  

Labour’s real aim is to abolish private schools “by the back door”, the headteacher of a leading independent school has said in an outspoken attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s VAT and National Insurance increases. He warned that Labour’s policy agenda would require further tax rises to compensate for stagnating economic growth “and schools like mine will become over-elitist, not through …

Foreign Office asks private schools to offer discounted fees for diplomats' children following Labour's VAT raid
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Foreign Office asks private schools to offer discounted fees for diplomats' children following Labour's VAT raid

Daily Mail  

The Foreign Office has pleaded with private schools to offer discounted fees to diplomats’ children amid Labour’s tax raid. Private school fees will be subject to VAT from January when Labour ends an exemption for the provision of education, Rachel Reeves has said The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office government building on Whitehall in the Westminster district of London in …

What is Labour’s controversial private school VAT raid policy?
1 month, 3 weeks ago

What is Labour’s controversial private school VAT raid policy?

The Independent  

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Parents already turning down private school places as Labour’s VAT policy looms
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Parents already turning down private school places as Labour’s VAT policy looms

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Research shared withThe Independent by education consultants Anglo Schools International …

France and Germany slam Labour's VAT plan for private schools - and warn it could force hundreds of pupils out of international schools
1 month, 3 weeks ago

France and Germany slam Labour's VAT plan for private schools - and warn it could force hundreds of pupils out of international schools

Daily Mail  

France and Germany have attacked Labour's plan to levy VAT on private school fees, saying it could force hundreds of pupils out of international schools. French ambassador Hélène Duchêne warned the controversial tax raid threatened Sir Keir Starmer's attempt to 'reset' diplomatic relations between Britain and the EU Sir Keir plans to remove the VAT exemption on school fees from …

Military families set to be exempt from Labour’s controversial VAT on private school fees
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Military families set to be exempt from Labour’s controversial VAT on private school fees

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Military families are set to be protected from Labour’s decision to …

School VAT tax raid to go ahead in win for Bridget Phillipson
2 months, 2 weeks ago

School VAT tax raid to go ahead in win for Bridget Phillipson

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In response, the Treasury initially failed to confirm that the …

Private schools plan legal challenge against Starmer’s VAT raid
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Private schools plan legal challenge against Starmer’s VAT raid

The Telegraph  

Private schools are drawing up plans to launch a legal challenge against the Government’s VAT raid on school fees, The Telegraph can reveal. Private schools also want ministers to push back the implementation of the VAT policy from Jan 1 2025 to September next year. However, victory in the High Court would rubber-stamp private schools’ concerns that the policy is …

Parents appalled after council asks those trying to move their children to state education from private schools to prove how poor they are
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Parents appalled after council asks those trying to move their children to state education from private schools to prove how poor they are

Daily Mail  

A council was forced to apologise for asking parents moving their child to a state school to provide evidence that they longer afford private school fees. Buckinghamshire Council had reportedly asked parents to prove their financial situation in order for their children to be considered for a state school place because schools 'are full'. Buckinghamshire Council was forced to apologise …

Prove you can’t afford private school fees, council asks parents
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Prove you can’t afford private school fees, council asks parents

The Telegraph  

Parents have been asked to provide evidence they can no longer afford private school fees to secure a place at a state school. However, if you can provide evidence that you can no longer finance the independent school fees, please advise and we can make a local authority non-preference allocation.” Councils must not ask for parents’ financial status All children …

Thousands of armed forces families depend on help into private schools. Labour's VAT raid plan threatens to hit their children hard, writes LORD KEMPSELL
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Thousands of armed forces families depend on help into private schools. Labour's VAT raid plan threatens to hit their children hard, writes LORD KEMPSELL

Daily Mail  

From Cyprus to Somalia, South Sudan to the Falklands, British military personnel are deployed 24/7 around the world to safeguard our national interests. They fight bloodthirsty terrorists and intercept international organised criminals Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson leaves 10 Downing Street More than 4,000 military children receive support for their private education …

Eton 'to impose Labour's 20 per cent VAT rise in January's fees' with costs of attending 584-year-old school set to rise to £63,000 per year
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Eton 'to impose Labour's 20 per cent VAT rise in January's fees' with costs of attending 584-year-old school set to rise to £63,000 per year

Daily Mail  

Eton College will add the full 20 per cent VAT cost on to school fees when Labour’s policy is introduced, it has announced. We recognise the concern that will be felt by many parents following this announcement.’ Eton College will charge the full 20 per cent VAT on its school fees from January after Labour's policy is introduced Chancellor Rachel …

Government’s private schools VAT raid ‘could cost taxpayer £1.8bn’
3 months, 3 weeks ago

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

The Telegraph  

The free market think tank looked at what would happen if two-fifths of money these parents earn or the hours they work specifically to cover school fees was instead taken as leisure. The study has been published as Ipsos polling for The Telegraph shows that while the public broadly supports the Government’s plan to hit school fees with 20 per …

Eton College tells parents fees likely to rise by 20% over Labour’s VAT plan
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Eton College tells parents fees likely to rise by 20% over Labour’s VAT plan

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Eton College will raise fees by 20% as a result …

Eton College to raise fees by 20% following Labour’s VAT on private schools
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Eton College to raise fees by 20% following Labour’s VAT on private schools

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Eton College will …

Eton to raise fees by 20pc amid Labour VAT raid
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Eton to raise fees by 20pc amid Labour VAT raid

The Telegraph  

Eton College will pass on 20 per cent VAT to parents in full from January, the school has announced. In the letter to parents, the school said that having “carefully considered the impact of the Government’s decision… from January 2025, we regret that the cost of an Eton education is likely to rise by 20 per cent as a result …

Biggest private girls’ school chain raises fees by 12pc over VAT raid
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Biggest private girls’ school chain raises fees by 12pc over VAT raid

The Telegraph  

The largest chain of private schools for girls in Britain has said it will hike fees 12 per cent from January when the Government will begin applying VAT to them. The Girls’ Day School Trust, a group of 23 top private schools in England and Wales, said it would not pass on the entire 20 per cent VAT charge to …

Military families fear being 'priced out' of boarding schools by Sir Keir Starmer's plans to place VAT on private schools
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Military families fear being 'priced out' of boarding schools by Sir Keir Starmer's plans to place VAT on private schools

Daily Mail  

Military families who rely on boarding schools fear they will be priced out by Labour's VAT hike. Military families who rely on boarding schools fear they will be priced out by Labour's VAT hike King Charles III and Prince William stand in front of an Apache helicopter during the official handover in which King Charles III passes the role of …

Private schools at risk of closure over VAT hike already face big budget shortfalls, says Phillipson
4 months, 1 week ago

Private schools at risk of closure over VAT hike already face big budget shortfalls, says Phillipson

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Private schools at …

Fury as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says parents were given 'ample warning' about Labour's VAT raid on private school fees
5 months ago

Fury as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says parents were given 'ample warning' about Labour's VAT raid on private school fees

Daily Mail  

Labour stepped up its class war on private schools yesterday after the Education Secretary suggested VAT could be applied to school fees as early as January. Independent school groups branded Bridget Phillipson's plans 'needlessly disruptive' and said they could lead to parents having to withdraw their pupils in the middle of the school year. Independent school groups branded Bridget Phillipson's …

Labour private school VAT tax plan could come soon – what parents need to know
5 months ago

Labour private school VAT tax plan could come soon – what parents need to know

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Labour’s plan to end tax breaks for private schools could …

Phillipson blames private schools for ‘pricing out’ middle classes in row over VAT on fees
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Phillipson blames private schools for ‘pricing out’ middle classes in row over VAT on fees

The Independent  

Labour has hit back at criticism of its plans to impose VAT on private schools, blaming inflation-busting hikes in school fees over the years for “pricing out the middle classes”. “I just believe that we need to make sure we’re prioritising public money, and we shouldn’t be giving unjustified tax breaks to private schools, who are their own businesses and …

Labour to shut loophole in VAT raid on private school fees
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Labour to shut loophole in VAT raid on private school fees

The Telegraph  

Asked on Thursday when private schools should expect the policy to land, Ms Phillipson said: “This will be subject to a process through the budget if we form the next government and I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here because I know we’ve got an election in a week’s time, and a lot of people need to …

Labour would have to raise taxes to fill immediate £2bn black hole, Tories claim
6 months ago

Labour would have to raise taxes to fill immediate £2bn black hole, Tories claim

The Telegraph  

Labour would face an immediate £2 billion “black hole” in their public spending plans which would require early tax rises, the Conservatives have claimed. The Conservatives have pointed to a statement from Sir Keir Starmer that there will be an “immediate injection” of cash into public services if Labour forms a government, along with comments from Ms Reeves that every …

Budget rules mean private schools VAT raid won’t start before Sept 2025, Labour insiders claim
6 months ago

Budget rules mean private schools VAT raid won’t start before Sept 2025, Labour insiders claim

The Telegraph  

Despite the claims, tax experts have warned that Labour could apply the VAT raid to this academic year if they wanted. The Conservatives jumped on the development, claiming Labour would raise less money than claimed if the private school tax change does not happen in its first year in office. They have to come clean with the British people about …

Labour tax raid to push up house prices near top state schools
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Labour tax raid to push up house prices near top state schools

The Telegraph  

When comparing property prices in different catchment areas, it is already clear that they have risen fastest in areas with highly rated schools. The value of properties near schools rated as “outstanding” has grown by 67pc since 2008, while those rated as “good” rose by 61pc. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to roll out a tax raid on private schools …

Labour’s VAT raid: ‘I already work two jobs and cannot fathom a third’
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Labour’s VAT raid: ‘I already work two jobs and cannot fathom a third’

The Telegraph  

Labour is planning to add 20 per cent VAT to independent school fees from January, a proposal which it estimates will raise an extra £1.6 billion for pupils in the state system. A solicitor and decorated former member of the Armed Forces, Jon went to a state school himself and says, “I’m what perhaps Monty Python or The Two Ronnies …

The real losers from Labour’s VAT raid on private schools? The children
6 months, 2 weeks ago

The real losers from Labour’s VAT raid on private schools? The children

The Independent  

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Labour’s VAT raid will lead to ‘McDonaldsisation’ of education
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Labour’s VAT raid will lead to ‘McDonaldsisation’ of education

The Telegraph  

Labour’s plans to charge VAT on private schools could lead to the “McDonaldisation” of education if schools are forced to make drastic cost cuts, a headteacher has warned. The head of a £22,000-a-year prep school in the West Midlands said Labour’s proposal to add 20 per cent tax on private schools could force them to slim down their curricula and …

Watch: Yvette Cooper is asked four times about pupils ousted from private schools by VAT raid
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Watch: Yvette Cooper is asked four times about pupils ousted from private schools by VAT raid

The Telegraph  

Yvette Cooper refused to explain how Labour would find school places for children forced out of private education by the party’s VAT raid, despite being asked four times. “Other organisations and institutions have to pay VAT, we do think it’s fair for private schools to pay VAT and for that money to be used to recruit 6,500 teachers for our …

State schools report rise in applications amid fears over Labour’s private school VAT raid
6 months, 3 weeks ago

State schools report rise in applications amid fears over Labour’s private school VAT raid

The Telegraph  

State schools have reported a rise in mid-year applications amid growing fears parents will no longer be able to afford to educate their children privately if Labour come to power. Another said: “We have recently had parents who are desperate to send their child to our school as they were jumping ship from a private school they were stretched to …

Second private school blames Labour’s tax raid for closure
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Second private school blames Labour’s tax raid for closure

The Telegraph  

It comes after Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said that many private schools have “pleaded poverty and say people will be priced out” by the proposals. Mr Streeting said on BBC Question Time on Thursday: “I say to the headteachers, you’re going to have to cut your cloth accordingly like state schools have had to.” Downham charges £7,800 a …

Don’t bash the global rich, Keir Starmer – tax them instead
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Don’t bash the global rich, Keir Starmer – tax them instead

The Independent  

Tony Blair is unenthusiastic about the two Labour policies that are designed to raise most of the money to pay for the party’s modest pledges. As Ed Balls, when he was shadow chancellor in 2015, tried to explain: “It probably ends up costing Britain money, because there’ll be some people who will then leave the country.” But wait a minute: …

Military families will be priced out of private schools under Labour
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Military families will be priced out of private schools under Labour

The Telegraph  

The CEA allowance is also available to some diplomatic families, with more than 500 currently receiving support. Last week, Sir Keir Starmer, promised to roll out the VAT policy “straight away” if he wins the election, despite having published virtually no detail on how it would work. The Independent Schools Council on Wednesday called for Labour to allow children of …

Private school parents warned state places are scarce
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Private school parents warned state places are scarce

The Telegraph  

Private school parents looking to escape Labour’s VAT raid have been warned there are very few state school places available. One mother who contacted her local council about the possibility of moving her child from private to state education ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s proposed 20 per cent hike in fees was told that secondary schools are so oversubscribed that …

Labour could HIKE university tuition fees despite previous pledge to scrap them altogether as party's education chief refuses to rule out increasing the already 'unpalatable' levy after insisting they
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Labour could HIKE university tuition fees despite previous pledge to scrap them altogether as party's education chief refuses to rule out increasing the already 'unpalatable' levy after insisting they

Daily Mail  

University tuition fees could be raised under a Labour government, despite the party previously pledging to scrap them altogether. Sir Keir Starmer yesterday confirmed his previous vow to axe university tuition fees had been dropped. Sir Keir Starmer yesterday confirmed his previous vow to axe university tuition fees had been dropped Shadow education spokesman Bridget Phillipson acknowledged that raising fees …

Labour’s VAT raid will force private schools to close, education chief warns
7 months ago

Labour’s VAT raid will force private schools to close, education chief warns

The Telegraph  

However, Labour has given scant detail as to the timing of its implementation, nor the extent of any exemptions, leaving private schools unable to plan their budgets. “Labour hasn’t fleshed out the policy, so we’re looking at tea leaves and trying to work out from different speeches that labour figures have made about what the policy is likely to be.” …

Labour’s private schools tax plans ‘blamed for fall in entries’
7 months, 1 week ago

Labour’s private schools tax plans ‘blamed for fall in entries’

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Labour’s planned tax on private schools has been blamed for …

Labour's planned tax raid on private schools would 'cost more than it saves' for the education system, report warns
9 months ago

Labour's planned tax raid on private schools would 'cost more than it saves' for the education system, report warns

Daily Mail  

Labour would 'damage' the education system with its proposed tax raid on private schools – which would cost the taxpayer £1.6billion a year, a think-tank has warned. Sir Keir Starmer's party wants to introduce VAT on independent school fees, claiming it would generate £1.7billion to spend on state education. Sir Keir Starmer's party wants to introduce VAT on independent school …

Labour’s private school tax raid ‘could cost taxpayer £1.6bn a year’
9 months, 1 week ago

Labour’s private school tax raid ‘could cost taxpayer £1.6bn a year’

The Telegraph  

Labour’s private school tax raid could cost the taxpayer £1.6 billion a year if it forces a quarter of pupils into the state sector, a new report has found. Sir Keir Starmer’s party has made introducing VAT on independent school fees a flagship policy, claiming it would generate £1.7 billion to spend on state education. In its report, titled Short …

Almost half of voters do not think private schools should be exempt from VAT
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Almost half of voters do not think private schools should be exempt from VAT

The Telegraph  

Adrian James, 50, a former Labour voter from Edinburgh, said Sir Keir Starmer’s tax raid on private schools “smacks of middle-class hatred”. Mr James, an IT manager, said he moved his two children, aged 10 and 13, to private schools after one was bullied and his other child was diagnosed with dyslexia but her state school said she would have …

Labour VAT raid on private schools ‘will displace vulnerable pupils’
10 months, 1 week ago

Labour VAT raid on private schools ‘will displace vulnerable pupils’

The Telegraph  

An independent schools group has warned that the Labour Party has failed to engage with it over warnings that thousands of vulnerable children could have their education “thrown up in the air” by a planned VAT raid. Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said more than 95,000 children with special educational needs were at risk if …

Labour's plan to slap VAT on school fees is a tax on aspiration. I know because my mum worked three jobs to pay for my education, writes INAYA FOLARIN IMAN
10 months, 1 week ago

Labour's plan to slap VAT on school fees is a tax on aspiration. I know because my mum worked three jobs to pay for my education, writes INAYA FOLARIN IMAN

Daily Mail  

You don't have to be a Left-wing firebrand to feel a twinge of unease as you stroll past the gates of Eton College in Windsor, where annual fees total £50,000. Inaya Folarin Iman's mother, Bola, worked multiple jobs, including night shifts in the care sector, to pay for independent primary schools in Kent Inaya Folarin Iman says she experienced British …

Private school parents say Labour's planned VAT raid on fees could force them to work longer hours and take on second jobs
11 months ago

Private school parents say Labour's planned VAT raid on fees could force them to work longer hours and take on second jobs

Daily Mail  

Parents say they will be forced to work longer hours and take on second jobs to afford Labour's VAT raid on private school fees. It is spearheaded by Tony Perry, 46, a NHS data analyst, who launched the campaign alongside dozens of parents at LVS Ascot, an independent day and boarding school in Berkshire, yesterday. The campaign is spearheaded by …

Private school VAT raid will hurt the less wealthy, parents tell Keir Starmer
11 months ago

Private school VAT raid will hurt the less wealthy, parents tell Keir Starmer

The Telegraph  

Parents who send their children to private schools have told Sir Keir Starmer they are “not wealthy” as they launch a campaign against his VAT raid. We have seen him transform.” ‘Hear parent voices’ Mr Perry, who earns around £60,000 a year, said: “As a non-wealthy parent sending a child to private school, I am disappointed by Labour’s determination to …

Labour pledges money from private school VAT raid for seven different policies
11 months, 1 week ago

Labour pledges money from private school VAT raid for seven different policies

The Telegraph  

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “stretching the limits of credulity” after unveiling a seventh policy to be funded by his tax raid on private schools. He said the plan, costed at £576 million a year, will be bankrolled with the £1.7 billion raised by removing private schools’ exemption from VAT and business rates. It takes the total cost …

Labour will close potential ‘VAT loophole’ for private school fees
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Labour will close potential ‘VAT loophole’ for private school fees

The Telegraph  

Some schools have told parents that they could sidestep paying VAT under a possible future Labour government by paying for years of their child’s education in advance, before the new legislation came in. ‘A clear attempt to exploit stereotypes’ Responding to Labour’s plans for private school fees, David Woodgate, the chief executive of the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association, said: “The …

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