Plans by the coalition government to create a tax haven in the UK have been labelled as a “missed opportunity” to bring in much needed funds to the higher education sector, by the Universities and College Union (UCU).
The proposal, made by Tory Chancellor George Osborne ,would see Britain adopt the lowest level of corporation tax among G20 countries, which according to the UCU would deprive the Treasury of £6.4bn.
Since the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) announced cuts of £573m to the sector earlier this year, thousands of jobs have been lost and universities around the country have been hit by a wave of strikes.
According to UCU, the Tories have their priorities wrong and the planned cuts to corporation tax would be a complete disaster for Britain. UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said:
“Starving education of funds and making families pay more to access a university education, while authorising billions in tax giveaways to big business will be a disaster for the UK. We need a highly-skilled workforce that can compete in the high-knowledge global economy.”
The UCU argues that in other countries large companies are expected to contribute to the education system that they benefit from, while in the UK it is students and their parents who have to foot the bill.
Sally Hunt said: “We do not believe the UK's future is as a haven for companies who want to move capital and have no loyalty. The Tories' proposals to lower corporation tax and deprive the Treasury of over £6bn prove once again that their talk of us all being in this together is an offensive soundbite.”
