Graduates on the government's tax hit list
Vince Cable will today set out plans for a so-called graduate tax with hopes that this will dispel some fears over the potential increase in tuition fees. Under the current system graduates are loaned money by the UK government which is a repaid at a later date when they are in employment. However, this repayment system takes no account of a graduates income in the future although under Vince Cable's plan we could see this figure adjusted to take into account the income of the underlying graduate.
In simple terms, the UK government would cover the cost of tuition fees and graduates would then pay a higher rate of tax in the future to repay this cost. Whether this will be seen as yet another in-direct cost towards the UK education system is open to debate although a revamp of university fees and the student loan repayment system is well underway. This comes at a time when a number of Liberal Democrat MPs have already signed pledges to oppose an increase in UK tuition fees, thereby providing the UK government with a significant headache.
Vince Cable appears willing to go out on a limb on his own at the moment with a number of comments and suggestions which do not seem to be totally in line with government policy?
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