Private schools in the UK could face an additional tax if Labour wins the upcoming election. The party has said it would impose VAT on fees from private schools and give the proceeds to state schools to hire more teachers. The move has drawn support from those who see it as a fair way to raise revenue, while others believe it to be an unfair burden on parents.
As outlined in the party’s manifesto, the proposed policy would raise approximately £1.5bn and create enough funding to train 6,500 more teachers. However, the policy seems to be causing concern among parents who fear sending their children to private education, schools that rely on donations and will struggle to offset VAT.
The VAT proposal in the Labour Party manifesto has drawn support from adviser Sam Freedman, who previously worked with the former Education Secretary Michael Gove. He described the proposed tax as reasonable because most people who send their children to private schools are from the top 10 per cent of wealthy households. Freedman also points out that demand for private schools is highly inelastic, and so it is unlikely that parents will withdraw their children from private schools because of the tax change.
However, Kristina Murkett, an English teacher in a private school, opposes the policy and believes that it will negatively affect smaller independent schools. Murkett suggests an alternative for the private schools that maintain their charitable status, stating that they should devote 20% of revenue costs towards bursaries and scholarships for students who come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Although only around 7% of students go to fee-paying schools, according to University College London, this figure rises to 17% of all sixth formers. Some now fear an exodus to the state sector and an increase to house prices next to attractive state schools. Opponents also argue that smaller, less wealthy independent schools will be the ones most hard hit by the proposed tax.
Despite these concerns, however, polls suggest that the policy supporting the tax is popular among the British public and that constructive, nuanced policies from the government should be added in place of the VAT
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