英國私校加稅20% 有冇人改變計劃 - 海外留學

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教育王國 › 討論區 › 海外留學 › 英國私校加稅20% 有冇人改變計劃

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樓主: 5Anne	go [英國] 英國私校加稅20% 有冇人改變計劃 [複製鏈接]

Poyau

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發表於 24-9-9 17:11 |只看該作者

yuyueng 發表於 24-9-3 12:15
出名嘅大把人讀，加到一年十萬鎊都唔驚，係果D細校同唔出名嘅可能要執笠。 ...

Catholic private school serving working-class families has to close due to Labour’s VAT change

The Catholic Herald

September 4, 2024 at 11:30 am

https://catholicherald.co.uk/catholic-private-school-serving-working-class-families-has-to-close-due-to-labours-vat-change/

A small independent Catholic school in one of the most deprived areas of England is closing due to the new Labour government’s plan to remove the tax exemption for private schools and impose VAT on school fees.

St Joseph’s Preparatory School in Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands has said that the “incredibly difficult” decision was made due to the “changes coming regarding independent school funding”, while emphasising that its working-class parents could not afford the increase in fees resulting from the government’s new policy, reports the Daily Telegraph.

St Joseph’s has been described as a “flagship” secondary school due to its mission and role in the area it served. It was founded by Edmund Rice and its mission was to provide “a quiet place for spiritual growth in a fast-paced modern world”.

“The parents at St Joseph’s Prep are not the parents at some of the very grand independent schools,” says Roisin Maguire, who helps oversee the school in her capacity as Director of Schools for England with Edmund Rice Network England, a Catholic schools network and part of the Edmund Rice Foundation. “They are people who do without things to provide the very best education for their child.”

Maguire, who also was the school’s headteacher for 12 years, adds: “The school was just about breaking even with a little bit of support from the trustees, but they do not have the finances to keep funding an additional 20 per cent and then having to pay business rates as well.”

On 2 September, the first day of the new school year in England, the school told parents it will close on December 31, one day before the Government’s 20 per cent levy on school fees begins.

The school says that its priority now is to help find places for its 80 pupils, aged between of 3 and 12, in new schools – halfway through the school year – though the school has already had parents notify it that their children won’t be coming back.

St Joseph’s charges up to £3,415 per term, almost 50 percent less than the average private school (£6,021), according to the Independent Schools Council, reports the Telegraph.

It notes that the VAT levy would have added £2,049 per year to the fees, while raising less than £165,000 annually for the Government.

Ms Maguire also highlights that it is smaller private schools in less affluent areas that will suffer under Labour’s policy.

“This is a school in one of the most deprived areas in the country in Stoke-on-Trent,” she told the Telegraph. “It’s not serving a wealthy affluent population”

She added: “I know what people say, if those parents chose [private education], they should pay everything, but actually those parents already pay their taxes and… some are working class people who have worked really hard.

“And when Keir Starmer says, ‘Oh, well, the trustees of these charities will be able to pick this up and pay it from their reserves’; perhaps that’s the case at some schools where they have huge sums of money, millions of pounds invested, but that’s not the case for this small school.
“More and more of these small independent schools which are serving a real need in their area will literally close.”

A press release from the school’s board of trustees states:
“The Trustees would wish to acknowledge the commitment of parents, governors and staff of St Joseph’s Prep and would wish to thank all those involved who have served and committed their time, in the interests of ensuring the children have received an excellent education.”

It adds: “Our prayers are with everybody at this heartbreaking time.”
During the sudden closure in August of Kilgraston School, Scotland’s only Catholic boarding school, the school said “the possible impact of VAT on school fees” was a factor in the decision to close, due to pupil numbers already being perilously low for the school to be sustainable.

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Poyau

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發表於 24-9-9 17:23 |只看該作者

Sana2010 發表於 24-9-1 15:09
本帖最後由 Sana2010 於 24-9-1 15:10 編輯

加幅已在本地引起討論

Private school to absorb VAT changes until July

7 days ago

Ashlea Tracey

BBC News, Isle of Man

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k41rgrnk8o

King William’s College opened on the Isle of Man in August 1833

The Isle of Man's only private school has confirmed it will absorb the costs of planned VAT changes for the 2025 spring and summer terms.

It follows the UK government's announcement in July that VAT at the standard rate of 20% will be added to private school fees from 1 January 2025.

King William’s College (KWC) said the move would provide families with "financial stability" and any future fee changes would be confirmed by Easter.

The Isle of Man government said it was working with the school "to understand how they might navigate through this transition and where we might assist".

An agreement between the two jurisdictions means the island is required to keep its customs and excise duties in line with those in the UK.

'Sustainable future'

Under the current rules, private schools do not have to charge VAT on their fees because of a legal exemption for organisations providing education.

But the UK government has said removing that exemption would fund 6,500 new teachers in England.

KWC, which has about 430 pupils, said the Manx government had committed to working with the school to "ensure a sustainable future" and to explore potential solutions to "mitigate the impact of this change".

Principal Damian Henderson said discussions with government "about the importance of maintaining independent education on the island" had been "positive".

The Isle of Man government said both the Treasury and the Department for Enterprise recognised "the role KWC played in providing educational services on the island, as well as the economic contribution it generates as a result".

The school recently announced plans to move the junior Buchan School to the King William's College site in Castletown in a bid to save money.

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Poyau

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發表於 24-9-9 17:35 |只看該作者

yuyueng 發表於 24-9-3 12:15
出名嘅大把人讀，加到一年十萬鎊都唔驚，係果D細校同唔出名嘅可能要執笠。 ...

‘We’re not sitting on millions’: Private school parents attack Labour over closure

By Adam Forrest

Scotland Correspondent

September 3, 2024 9:00 am

https://inews.co.uk/news/private-school-parents-attack-labour-vat-closure-3256850

Families from Cedars School in Scotland, which is closing after the VAT policy was announced, have accused Keir Starmer of ‘resentment’ politics

Parents affected by the closure of a private school have attacked Labour’s policy to introduce 20 per cent VAT on the institutions after scrambling to find new places for their children.

One father accused the Government’s levy of being “borne of resentment” of families who send their children to private schools, adding that he could not afford to pay higher fees.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in late July that private schools will start paying VAT from January 2025 to help fund thousands more teachers in the state sector.

While proponents say the policy – which will apply across the UK – will help the struggling state school sector, others say it will put more strain on fee-paying parents and cause some institutions to collapse. Labour previously said schools would be able to absorb the fees and that parents may not have to pay more.

Cedars School in Greenock, near Glasgow, was one of two fee-paying, independent schools in Scotland that announced closures in August.

The board of the small Christian school told i that Labour’s tax plan was the “straw the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

Douglas Marks, whose 12 and 14-year-old sons went to Cedars School, told i it appeared Labour was “happy to make families like us suffer”.

Mr Marks, a lecturer in behavioural sciences, and his wife were paying around £15,600 a year in fees for their two children.

After the school announced it was closing on 13 August, the couple decided there was not an affordable alternative in the private sector for their sons.

Instead, they joined the scramble to find a place for them at a local comprehensive before term started in late August.

“We hope they will be fine. I worry about the bigger class sizes, but they will adjust,” said Mr Marks.

“We’re not elitists. We’re not wealthy people sitting on millions. We couldn’t stretch to pay anymore. We would have had to sell our house, move somewhere smaller with a smaller mortgage to put the children in another private school.

“I think the policy is borne of resentment. I think they are resentful because they see people around them who have gone to Eton and other big private schools and think those people got a hand up.

“But the smaller independent schools are not like Eton – they don’t have huge funds. So more independent schools will close. And these are schools that are saving the state sector from finding and funding more places. So tearing us down isn’t socialism – it isn’t helping anyone.”

The Labour manifesto said ending the VAT exemption on private school fees would pay for 6,500 extra teachers in the public sector and 3,000 new nurseries.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said it could bring in £1.3bn to £1.5bn a year – adjusting for a three to seven per cent reduction in private school rolls if some parents are forced to pull their children out the sector.

Sir Keir Starmer said during the general election campaign there was no reason to believe these schools would have to close because of the 20 per cent levy.

The Prime Minister said the private schools would “adapt” to the VAT, arguing that they did not have to “pass on the costs” to parents in increased fees.

It emerged at the weekend that Eton College has told parents it is raising fees by 20 per cent to around £63,000 for most families as a result of the VAT policy.

The Cedars School board told i the school decided it could not afford to absorb the looming annual VAT bill of around £110,000.

They said a “significant proportion” of parents had also made clear after a meeting in early August that they would have to pull their children out of the school rather than pay any extra in fees.

“The school has had underlying financial problems – student numbers was an underlying problem,” said the spokesperson. “But the VAT decision is the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

The school is only staying open until late September to help the remaining families with the adjustment.

Martin Shaw, whose 14-year-old stepdaughter went to Cedars School, said the last few weeks has been “a nightmare for families”, adding that “many of them are still distraught”.

He is angry at the “misguided” Labour policy. “It’s Labour trying to sell themselves to people who have a problem with the idea of private schools,” he told i. “It’s surprising from Keir Starmer, because it’s Jeremy Corbyn stuff.”

But Mr Shaw is also angry at the school board for rejecting a proposal by a group of parents to raise funds to keep it going. He said they already had a commitment of £60,000 from families and a local business.

“We made clear there was still a chance for the school. I think we could have filled the gap. But they knocked back our ideas.”

Kilgraston School in Perthshire, a Catholic boarding school, announced in August that it was shutting down with immediate effect. The board of trustees said Labour’s VAT move was a factor in the closure.

Alton School in Hampshire and Downham Preparatory School in Norfolk have also announced their intention to shut, with both citing the looming VAT bill as a reason for closure.

Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, chief executive of the Independent Schools Association, called on the Government to create exemptions for smaller and financially fragile schools. “Some schools may not survive, leading to more closures than usual,” he said of the VAT change.

A Government spokesperson said: “We want to ensure all children have the best chance in life to succeed. Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to fund our education priorities for next year, such as recruiting 6,500 new teachers.”