NUS call to abolish top-up fees for tax on earnings Milkround News, 10 June 2009 Graduates are to face a tax on earnings as a replacement to top-up fees if proposals by the National Union of Students are backed by the Government.The NUS has produced a Blueprint for an alternative to higher education funding which would end the charges for England and Northern Ireland students of up to £3,225 a year.Universities are lobbying for an increase in top-up fees, and projections in a report by Universities UK (UUK) shows graduate debt would rise to more than £32,000 if top-up fees were raised to £7,000 a year.But they could be abolished if the new tax was introduced.The NUS wants graduates to contribute to the future costs of higher education according to their actual earnings over a 20 year period, so that those who benefit the most from university by earning more will contribute more.This money would go into a People’s Trust for higher education which could be dipped into for additional university resources when needed.The top 20 percent of earners would contribute 2.5 percent of their total earnings, estimated at £125 a month) while the bottom 20 percent would pay just 0.3 percent, around £5 a month. It is estimated the scheme would raise £4.5 billion each year within 15 years – the same level of total revenue raised by tuition fees at present.The NUS is calling on the government and leading figures in the education sector to seriously consider their plans.NUS President Wes Streeting said: "In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasising about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt."This UUK report assumes that higher fees are inevitable, and that the shambolic current system of student support will remain in place. We believe there is an alternative way to fund higher education that is fairer for students, but still generates the kind of income the sector so badly needs."Today the NUS talked to MPs about its proposals and called for all financial support to be based on how much a student needs it, not where they happen to be studying.

NUS call to abolish top-up fees for tax on earnings

Milkround News, 10 June 2009
NUS call to abolish top-up fees for tax on earnings

Graduates are to face a tax on earnings as a replacement to top-up fees if proposals by the National Union of Students are backed by the Government.The NUS has produced a Blueprint for an alternative to higher education funding which would end the charges for England and Northern Ireland students of up to £3,225 a year.Universities are lobbying for an increase in top-up fees, and projections in a report by Universities UK (UUK) shows graduate debt would rise to more than £32,000 if top-up fees were raised to £7,000 a year.But they could be abolished if the new tax was introduced.The NUS wants graduates to contribute to the future costs of higher education according to their actual earnings over a 20 year period, so that those who benefit the most from university by earning more will contribute more.This money would go into a People’s Trust for higher education which could be dipped into for additional university resources when needed.The top 20 percent of earners would contribute 2.5 percent of their total earnings, estimated at £125 a month) while the bottom 20 percent would pay just 0.3 percent, around £5 a month. It is estimated the scheme would raise £4.5 billion each year within 15 years – the same level of total revenue raised by tuition fees at present.The NUS is calling on the government and leading figures in the education sector to seriously consider their plans.NUS President Wes Streeting said: "In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasising about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt."This UUK report assumes that higher fees are inevitable, and that the shambolic current system of student support will remain in place. We believe there is an alternative way to fund higher education that is fairer for students, but still generates the kind of income the sector so badly needs."Today the NUS talked to MPs about its proposals and called for all financial support to be based on how much a student needs it, not where they happen to be studying.

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DAVID W
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In response to Vicki C: The people who earn more have possibly gained more from going to university so they owe their university more. On the other hand, people who are earning less after university (despite paying just as much to attend as big earners) and therefore have gained less from their education might feel hard done by having to pay so much when they have gained so little.