The Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet now finds itself at loggerheads with members of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee over tax breaks for private schools.
The executive voted on Thursday evening to go ahead with a recommendation to exclude fee-paying schools from Discretionary Rate Relief (DRR) – a tax relief local authorities can choose to grant businesses, charities and organisations which means they don’t pay business rates.
On Tuesday, however, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee (CSC) recommended the opposite: that Island private schools should be allowed access to receive DRR.
The body urged the cabinet to ‘strongly reconsider’ the policy’s application and warned of a detrimental effect on the Isle of Wight and future regeneration.
Deputy Leader Councillor Ian Stephens said:
“Currently many private schools benefit from charitable status which allows them to receive up to 80 per cent relief on their business rates.
“This relief is seen as unfair and it provides significant financial advantages to fee-paying schools, compared to our state schools which do not receive such extensive relief.”
Education cabinet member Councillor Jonathan Bacon said:
“I was actually quite stunned by what was coming out of Scrutiny on Tuesday evening and particularly the fact there was no reference or comparison to the situation in state schools.
“Yes there are some who, for whatever reason have mandatory relief, but there are at least 20 who don’t and are paying these bills…if our interest is supporting the education system, surely we’d extend relief to all those rather than giving a privilege to the already privileged?”
At CSC’s meeting, the Empowering Islanders group’s Councillor Chris Jarman led opposition to the cabinet’s policy along with leader of the Isle of Wight Conservatives, Councillor Ed Blake.
Cllr Jarman said:
“I find it very odd that we would bring in such a measure and policy that would be targeting, in effect, only two schools on the whole Island.
“At least one of those schools I know has a number of sub-elements within it which are charitable concerns – not only a bursary scheme but charitable issues that they provide.”
Cllr Blake said:
“Why are we doing this? They are not exactly Eton and Harrow – those schools – they are local providers of education that host a whole range of children, including some on bursaries.
“I would be against anything that hampers those schools’ ability to provide exceptional facilities not just for their own students but to the wider community.”
Full Council – all councillors sitting on the County Council – will cast a final vote on the policy at its meeting on Thursday (19th March).
If approved, it will take effect from 1st April.
Get them to pay up, we are all paying extortionate
council tax, why should private schools get away
without paying their way!
Goodness me, rich Tories complaining about fairer taxation for the benefit of those not privileged to receive a fully funded education, whatever next?
Something feels very rotten about a decision like this? Why now? What deal is Phil Jordan cutting with who to do this now and keep himself as our dear leader?
Eh? This is a tax equality issue going on over the whole country. State schools pay what is effectively business rates (at 100%), private schools don’t because they claim charitable status as non-residential buildings. If there was equality (state schools don’t make profits either) and state schools were also granted an 80% rebate what do you think the loss in tax revenue would do for the communities, or the education system? Each council now has the ability to charge tax, and in areas where there is a lack of funding and the council leader DOESN’T make private schools liable then you’d have an argument for cronyism….this isn’t it.
It would be perverse to eempt private schools from business rates when that money could be used by state schools. It is a nonsense for state schools to subsidise the private education of children whose parents can afford , by definition, to pay for private education.