Businesses should pay more tax, say universities
Union calls for increased corporation tax to fund education
Universities want an increase in corporation tax to help them raise enough
money to abolish tuition fees.
The University and
College Union (UCU) has called for a business education tax, to
make industry pay towards the numerous benefits it receives from higher
education.
They claim employers’ contribution to higher education is “negligible”, and
well below the level of France, Japan and the US.
Sally Hunt, general secretary at UCU, said: “The future for the UK is as a
high-skilled knowledge economy and that requires business to pay its fair share
towards something which benefits us all.
“We are asking that the UK increases corporation tax to the G7 average, which
would still leave it lower than the rate when the Conservative Party was last in
power.”
Richard Murphy, director at Tax Research UK, said: “This tax pays for the
investment we need if the future of British business is to be secured.”
The UCU cited London mayor Boris Johnson’s use of a 2p in the pound tax on
London businesses, to fund the Crossrail project, as evidence of a trend towards
businesses paying towards public services they benefit from.