Yahoo Finanzas How much will Labour’s private school VAT hike cost you? Use our tool to find out
Labour’s tax raid on private school fees would cost the average family more than £56,000 over the course of a child’s education, Telegraph analysis has found.
The party wants to introduce charge VAT of 20pc, as well as ending business rate relief, immediately if it wins the election.
It says the tax could raise £1.7 billion to be pumped into state schools.
But the policy has set alarm bells ringing with middle-class families already abandoning private education over cost fears.
It comes after households with children attending independent providers were stuck with an unprecedented 8pc hike in day fees last year, according to the latest report from the Independent Schools Council (ISC).
The sector now fears an exodus that would force many longstanding institutions to close, and warns of nearby state schools being overwhelmed.
Enter how much you are currently paying for your child’s private schooling per year, and see how much Labour’s VAT raid would cost you.
The blow to the family finances is a heavy one, and is all the greater for those with young children enrolled in the most expensive fee-paying schools.
The Telegraph’s latest value-for-money analysis found King of Kings School – an independent Christian school in Manchester – to be the cheapest in Britain, costing just £4,000 a year. Labour’s policy would add a cumulative £13,600 to the overall price of attendance between Year 1 and Year 13.
On the other end of the spectrum, for a girl schooling at Queen’s College, London in Westminster, this soars to just shy of £82,000.
Private school fees have historically increased at above-inflation rates each year. These figures account for the average 3.94pc over the past decade.
Even when attending for only a few short years before heading off to university, those finishing their studies at the most prestigious institutions in the country will also feel the pinch. Charging around £50,000 a year, those joining the registers of Eton or Harrow in Year 8 would see the combined cost of their remaining education rise by over £57,000.
Independent schools haven’t had to tack VAT on to their fees since an exemption was introduced with the Finance Act 1972.
But many in recent years, including former education secretary Micheal Gove, have deemed this unjust.
Some 556,500 pupils in the UK were in private schools in the latest academic year, according to the ISC – less than 7pc of the total.
But with the majority of state schools already at capacity, the system would likely struggle to cope with an influx of any magnitude.
ISC chief executive Julie Robinson said: “Parents choose independent schools for a variety of reasons, including for SEND support [special educational needs and disabilities], because they want a local school that aligns with their faith or for stability for military families.
“Our parents are overwhelmingly dual-income households paying fees termly out of taxed income and we are concerned that Labour’s policy would price many out of independent education, leading to no extra money being raised for our colleagues in state schools.
“A full impact assessment is needed to examine all possible unintended consequences of this unprecedented tax of education – particularly on a state SEND sector that is already in crisis.”
