The Chancellor's tax policy on independent schools is dangerous and harmful to many hard-working families.
Today, I have written to her, urging her to scrap it.
Find my letter below:
Dear Chancellor,
31 July 2024
I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding your proposal to impose VAT on independent schools. I fear it will have significant consequences that could ultimately harm our education system and place additional burdens on hardworking families across my constituency and the country.
This tax will impact hardworking families who make sacrifices to do what they feel is best for their children. Independent schools are not just for the most well off in our society. Families with differing household incomes send their children to independent schools.
Penalising parents with additional taxes seems not only unfair but counterproductive. It is crucial that we support, rather than hinder, families who strive to provide the best possible education for their children.
This tax will force too many families to reconsider their ability to afford independent education, in turn leading to a significant shift of students from independent to state schools. I fear that this will reduce the quality of education we see in state schools up and down the country.
Independent schools contribute significantly to the broader educational landscape. They often lead in innovation, provide scholarships and bursaries to less affluent students, and relieve some of the pressure on state schools. I believe that imposing VAT on these schools will diminish the positive impact these schools have on our educational system and society as a whole.
I urge you to abandon this policy, which would put our education system under strain and make independent schools only affordable to the super-wealthy in society. Don’t make the UK the only Western country to tax education.
I would be more than happy to meet with you to discuss these proposals further.
Yours sincerely,
Joy Morrissey MP
