German embassy calls for exemption from Labor Party’s private school VAT raid

German Embassy warned VAT raid on Labor Party’s private school could force hundreds of students to leave the UK’s only international school.

German Ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger wants Deutsche Schule London in Richmond-upon-Thames to be removed from the program Government plans to hit private schools with 20 percent VAT.

European diplomats are calling for exemptions for bilingual schools, arguing that these schools differ from private schools because students’ needs cannot easily be met in the state sector.

Mr Berger told The Times: “We have one German school in Richmond and we have 136 schools around the world. We have around 900 students. It’s very difficult to make an assessment, but we’ve heard it’s between 20 and 20. 25 percent may have to drop out of school.

“The German state covers 30 percent of school expenses and 50 percent of the investment; hence a large amount of state funding goes to the school.

“The only option for expats who have been coming here for two, three, four years and want their children to return to the national system is to go to these schools.

“They are completely different in character to normal British private schools and should be treated as such.

‘Schools are different’

“I think that’s a very important element of the whole relationship. It’s not about getting exemptions, it’s about recognition these schools are different.”

Deutsche Schule London, whose annual fees are £10,420, was founded in 1971 primarily to serve the children of diplomatic staff at embassies of German-speaking countries.

Labour’s VAT plan, which comes into force from 1 January 2025, will apply “at the place of supply”, meaning bilingual schools operating in the UK will still be charged.

The tax will not apply to UK schools operating abroad, such as the British School of Paris.

The French embassy wants 11 French schools in Britain to be exempt from the VAT crackdown, and The Telegraph reported last month that the Spanish embassy was also in talks with the Government over tax plans.

The Government was contacted for opinion.

A report published last summer by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimated that three to seven per cent of private school students could be diverted to the state sector due to policy; approximately 18,000 to 40,000 students.

Sir Keir Starmer and other ministers have repeatedly cited the report to defend the tax raid.

However, the book’s author, Luke Sibieta, has since acknowledged that the proportion of private school students forced into the state sector could be as high as 15 per cent – up to 90,000 students.