It stinks that Dulwich College, Eton et al, are multi-million £ businesses claiming charitable status tax exemptions. I am not doffing my cap to that abuse.

I see. You don’t like Eton and Dulwich so the entire diverse landscape of 2600 private schools in the uk, mostly small and medium sized local day schools that are nothing like elite public boarding schools can go hang. There’s a word for that. Bigotry.

Yes, they can go hang. Send your kids to state school, you can get a perfectly good education there.

Where are you finding the £16.5bn a year to close them?

VAT being applied to goods and services sold by a business is bigotry?

I think I described in detail where your bigotry is made clear. Charities and non-profits in the large majority, not that that’s relevant to whether VAT is applied. The type of good or service drives that.

My point is that Eton and Dulwich are claiming charitable status to avoid VAT and it is an abuse. They are multi-million businesses avoiding/evading tax. Meanwhile some state schools buildings are falling apart, whilst Winchester gets another science wing.

Your point is therefore factually incorrect. Charity status has nothing whatsoever to do with VAT. Also the have a large turnover but make no profits. They can’t. By law. As they are charities. None of it is funded by the taxpayer, who include PS parents.

Of course people buy advantage but why should private school access be exempt from VAT it's nonsensical?

Because it’s education and all education should be exempt as it’s a merit good. It’s fiscally nonsensical to tax it.