All posts tagged: VAT

Private school body launches legal action over VAT plan

Private school body launches legal action over VAT plan

Published by skeptic

The Independent Schools Council said the decision ‘has not been taken lightly’ but it is ‘defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education’ The Independent Schools Council said the decision ‘has not been taken lightly’ but it is ‘defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education’ More from this theme Recent articles A body representing private schools is launching legal action against the government’s decision to levy VAT on their fees. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said the decision “has not been taken lightly and has been under consideration for many months”. Robinson At yesterday’s budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed plans to go ahead with the introduction of VAT on private school fees from January 2025.  The ISC, an umbrella body for seven associations representing such schools, said its case would centre around alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Human Rights Act 1998. Robinson said: “At all points throughout this debate, our focus has been on the children in our schools who …

Government confirms VAT will be applied to private faith schools

Government confirms VAT will be applied to private faith schools

Published by skeptic

The UK Government has confirmed that VAT will be applied to private faith schools across the UK as part of its plans to remove VAT exemption for private schools. Humanists UK, who wrote to the Chancellor of Exchequer urging her not to apply any faith-based carve-outs to the VAT policy, has welcomed this announcement. However, it is concerned about private faith schools seeking to get around the policy by ostensibly – but not really – making their fees voluntary. Some private faith schools, including three private Christian schools, have said they will take legal action against the UK Government. These schools claim the policy would unlawfully discriminate against parents because it would force these schools to close and deprive them of providing a faith-based education for their children. At the time Humanists UK disputed this claim, arguing that even if private faith schools did close, state-funded faith schools would continue to exist. This view has been supported by the UK Government in its response to its technical consultation with parents and private school providers:  ‘[I]t …

Private Christian schools to take legal action against UK Government’s VAT plans

Private Christian schools to take legal action against UK Government’s VAT plans

Published by skeptic

Three private Christian schools and a group of parents are to sue the UK Government over its plans to impose VAT on English private school fees, the Times reports, claiming that the plans are a breach of the parents’ human rights. Lawyers have written to ministers arguing the proposal would unlawfully discriminate against parents wishing to provide their children with a Christian education because it would force Christian schools to close. But Humanists UK disputes this. Even if the schools in question did have to close, human rights don’t guarantee their existence and state-funded Christian schools continue to operate.  One parent named in the letter said they would not send their child to a state school as they wanted to make sure their children received ‘a positively Christian education and not a secular education’. But the European Convention on Human Rights provides that ‘In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity …

Private school VAT proposals: How Labour’s plan work?

Private school VAT proposals: How Labour’s plan work?

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More from this theme Recent articles The government has promised to collect VAT from parents who pre-pay private school fees from today in a bid to avoid Labour’s planned end to the tax break. Policy documents, published today, have also confirmed that pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) which state their needs can’t be met in the state sector will be exempt. Ministers believe this “will put private schools on a level playing field with many other suppliers of education services”. Here’s what you need to know… 1. VAT changes from January 2025 All education services and vocational training supplied by a private school for a charge “will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent” from January 1. Boarding services will be impacted in the same way. The stated “policy intention” is for nurseries to remain exempt, with only the fees of children in the first year of primary in a private school upwards taxable. Any fees paid from today (July 29) “pertaining to the term starting in …

Labour’s plan for VAT on private schools highlights inequalities | Private schools

Labour’s plan for VAT on private schools highlights inequalities | Private schools

Published by skeptic

I’m writing as a hard-working GP in the NHS. I’ve voted Labour in the past but I will not be voting for Labour in this election. I do not agree with Labour’s VAT on private schools policy (What are Labour’s plans for ending tax breaks for private schools?, 29 May). I believe there is an angle that Keir Starmer hasn’t considered, which will have a significant impact on less privileged rural communities such as where I work in north Devon. I moved to a low socioeconomic area to provide good healthcare for the community, as my father did in the 1980s. My children do not attend the local state school as I do not feel it would provide them with a good education. They attend the excellent private day school that is nurturing them exactly as I could ever wish for. If Labour puts VAT on private schools then professionals like me will have to consider moving back to the more privileged areas where there are better-quality state schools for our children. The low socioeconomic …

Private schools are labouring under false pretenses on VAT

Private schools are labouring under false pretenses on VAT

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Labour has announced that it will levy VAT on school fees. I imagine few of my readers are directly affected – either as worried parents, or as worried heads or teachers. But heh, it is nice to look over the fence once in a while, especially when you can have a chuckle at a sector we are all too often envious of.  A car costing three times as much as a Ford or Vauxhall is a luxury car. Private schools often cost three times a state school’s funding level; they too meet the common-sense definition of a luxury good. VAT on private schools is perfectly defensible – even if part of me dislikes the idea of taxing any form of education. (“First they came for the private schools, and I did nothing, because I did not work in one. Then they came for hardback books, and I did nothing because I always bought paperbacks. Then they came for school lunches, and I did nothing because I always made a …

The key problem with the “brain in a vat” thought experiment

The key problem with the “brain in a vat” thought experiment

Published by skeptic

There is a certain kind of story about nature and our place in it that says all we experience, all we feel, is nothing but neural circuity. According to one thought experiment, if I were a smart enough doctor or computer scientist, I could put your brain in a vat, hook it up to a bunch of electrodes that enable some kind of simulation of the world, and you’d never know the difference. Fed the proper electrical stimulus, your brain would conjure up the exact same experiences as if you were wandering around in the world in your body.  But is this “brain a vat” thought experiment right? Is direct experience — that most intimate and immediate sense of life and the world — really reducible to the wiring of neurons? The answer, I believe, is not at all. More importantly, the mistake at the heart of this idea is a primary example of the inability of certain philosophical perspectives on science to confront the centrality of human experience in doing science. Reducing conscious experience The …

‘They’re A Basic Necessity’: Radiographers Urge For Bras To Be Exempt From VAT

‘They’re A Basic Necessity’: Radiographers Urge For Bras To Be Exempt From VAT

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Diagnostic radiographers are set to argue today that VAT on bras disproportionately affects women and could even be considered discriminatory under the Equality Act. Diagnostic radiographers carry out X-rays, MRI and CT scans, which can be used to identify the musculoskeletal problems caused by poorly fitted bras. According to Sky News, the delegates will say today: “Those who are wearing a bra size D or above often get backaches, aching shoulders and neck pain, because of the weight of their breasts. “Wearing a good-quality, well-fitted bra could alleviate some of these issues, and reduce time off sick for musculoskeletal issues.” Currently only women who have had breast cancer surgery – whether a mastectomy, partial mastectomy or lumpectomy – are exempt from VAT when buying certain bras. This follows the VAT on period pants being dropped in January From the 1st January 2024, the government scrapped VAT on period pants after around 80 MPs, charities and retailers called on the government to scrap the VAT in August 2023. Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston, said: …

Bras are a basic necessity that should be exempt from VAT, radiographers say | UK News

Bras are a basic necessity that should be exempt from VAT, radiographers say | UK News

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Bras are a basic necessity and should not be subject to VAT, according to radiographers. Diagnostic radiographers who carry out X-rays, MRI and CT scans, are set to argue later that the tax disproportionately affects women and could be considered discriminatory under the Equality Act. They say musculoskeletal problems, which can lead to individuals having time off work, can be caused by poorly-fitted bras. Proposing the motion on Tuesday during their three-day annual conference in Leeds, delegates will say: “Those who are wearing a bra size D or above often get backaches, aching shoulders and neck pain, because of the weight of their breasts. “Wearing a good-quality, well-fitted bra could alleviate some of these issues, and reduce time off sick for musculoskeletal issues. “The imposition of VAT on bras disproportionately affects women. Taxing bras could be considered discriminatory as per the Equality Act 2010.” According to data gathering website Statista, the average amount spent on a bra in the UK in 2020 was £15-30. Currently only women who have had breast cancer surgery – whether …

Labour’s ‘back-of-a-fag packet’ plan to slap VAT on independent schools could cost £1.6bn | Politics | News

Labour’s ‘back-of-a-fag packet’ plan to slap VAT on independent schools could cost £1.6bn | Politics | News

Published by skeptic

Labour plans to slap VAT on independent school fees could actually cost £1.6billion, rather than deliver a tax dividend, a damning new analysis has indicated. A new report published by the Adam Smith Institute suggests that applying the levy risks raising no money at all – and could even backfire in spectacular fashion. The report also finds that the policy risked harming other children by creating a mass exodus to the already overwhelmed state system, intensifying competition for the country’s best state and grammar schools. It also highlighted the risk of reduced bursary and scholarship opportunities for talented youngsters. The analysis, by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), scrutinises the findings of a separate report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which suggests applying VAT to independent school fees would raise £1.3-£1.5billion – evidence for which the think tank itself has acknowledged is “thin” and “sparse”. Under the IFS’ optimistic scenario, only a limited number of parents will no longer be able to afford fees, and will move their children to the state sector. However, the …