Vince Cable set to propose graduate tax

themanbearpig

Will just result in even more good graduates jumping ship, and working in expat countries!

vivatifosi

I've had a long day and I'm tired. Can someone tell me if this applies to past grads as well as current? I can't see why I'd need to pay extra tax for both my degrees which were paid for by me (1st degree - Open) and in full by my former employer (Masters).

olly300

One thing people on here seem to forget is that university education costs the government more than just the loans, grants and bursaries students take out and receive.

So even if you are an OU student the government i.e. other tax payers are paying towards your course costs.

If you want to know the real cost of a course find out how much a non-EU foreign student pays.

vivatifosi

olly300 wrote: »

So even if you are an OU student the government i.e. other tax payers are paying towards your course costs.

That may be the case, but for my second degree my employer paid the full cost. I'm just trying to find out what the lie of the land is.

Kohoutek

vivatifosi wrote: »

I've had a long day and I'm tired. Can someone tell me if this applies to past grads as well as current?

I think that would be politically impossible, and people would argue that retrospective legislation is a breach of the Human Rights Acts.

Kohoutek

olly300 wrote: »

One thing people on here seem to forget is that university education costs the government more than just the loans, grants and bursaries students take out and receive.

So even if you are an OU student the government i.e. other tax payers are paying towards your course costs..

...and graduates contribute towards government higher education funding once they get a job and start paying tax, whether there is a 'graduate tax' or not.

marklv

I disagree with a graduate tax. Why should a hardworking doctor on, say, £80k a year, pay more tax than some Arthur Daley wheeler-dealer type earning the same amount who happened to have left school at 16?

What I would like to see is a higher tax on those earning six figure sums. The 50% income tax rate should be lowered to £100k.

PasturesNew

It wouldn't be about having a degree, but about having fees paid as being the catalyst for being issued with a higher tax code.

Mind you, speaking as somebody without a degree, LOL.

Oldernotwiser

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Yes, so it's exactly the same thing except the graduates have an unlimited liability, so theres even less point going to University than there is already. Unless you want to do a stupid degree and never pay anything back.

When fees go up to the level they're likely to, only a small minority will pay everything back on the current system anyway.

Harry_Flashman

Don't students take degree courses to enable them to get better jobs?

Doesn't that mean that they expect earn more money than those who don't take degree courses (generally)?

So where's the problem with them paying back what the taxpayer has put into this educational 'extra'?