VAT on School Fees
December 12th, 2007 | by The Vat Man |The Telegraph reported that a Labour think-tank is considering VAT on School Fees. As we all know these items are leaked deliberately to gauge opinion to the policy within the general voting public. It should be well known that not many Labour supporters will have their children at private school, the vast majority will be attending public schools.
However one small question pops into my mind. All school fees? So if the local school is asking for £100 per child to help with funding, will this incur VAT also? This is a policy that will likely come into force, in general Labour seem to hunt for revenue sources that they can tap without gaining more disdain from the public at large, and they have a chance that this one could be popular.
At present there is no decline in the numbers attending private schools, it is a growth area with year on year increases. Parents are willing when they have the money to pay huge amounts to give their child the best possible start. However this policy will make it much more difficult for parents who are just scraping by with the current fees.
Therefore instead of something simple like VAT on all private school fees, I can see Labour making a fudge of this also. More forms for parents to fill who will be able to claim some of the fees back. Means tested private school fees, what next?