Like many people, I am sceptical that a graduate tax is a good answer to either the funding crisis affecting higher education institutions and students or the political challenges faced by Keir Starmer and others who have spoken of getting rid of tuition fees in England.
Promising a big new tax that would, in a few years’ time, come to affect over half of all younger adults seems unlikely to go down all that well on the doorstep as the next election approaches. There are surely better ways to persuade floating voters that you understand their aspirations. (There are good reasons why politicians usually prefer raising tax by stealth rather than by introducing a large extra charge explicitly badged as a brand new ’tax’.)
I explained some of the practical problems with a graduate tax, as I see them, in an article in the Guardian seven years ago, back when Owen Smith floated the idea as part of his challenge for the Labour leadership. I do not intend to rehash them here. Others continue to argue the case in favour. Here are three pieces backing the idea published by: HEPI (Paul Maginnis); Wonkhe (David Kernohan); and the Guardian (Peter Hain).
