Labour clarifies VAT will be charged from January

  • 30th July 2024

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced in the Commons that 20% VAT will be levied on independent school fees from January and that the charge will be applied retrospectively if parents have paid the fees in advance.

The added expense will affect the parents of the 554,216 children attending independent schools in the UK – 5.9% of the total school population.

Speaking to The Times, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said: “Thousands of children face having their education disrupted as a result of this unprecedented tax. It will increase pressure on state schools and on an already stretched SEND system, as well as on faith provision, on specialist art education and on military families.

“The draft legislation was published before consultation with independent schools. We will be working over the coming months to engage the government on the consequences of this policy on schools, families and communities. It remains our belief that the best way to improve education for all is for schools to work together, not to tax education.”

Several senior Conservative MPs criticised the policy as the “politics of envy”.

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