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New tax will see Britons 'head elsewhere for graduate opportunities'

Published: Monday, 06 September 2010   Category: All Graduate job news

Some of the best young talent in Britain will head abroad rather than look to fill graduate vacancies at home if the graduate tax is introduced, it has been suggested.

At present, the government lends students money during their degree, which is then paid back at a uniform rate when their annual earnings reach £15,000.

Business secretary Vince Cable is proposing to introduce a new system whereby the highest-earning graduates would pay more for their degrees and prop up those in lower-paid jobs.

However, Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, revealed that its higher education taskforce is opposed to the idea.

"If we had [this tax], UK students would have an incentive to work overseas to escape paying, especially when the top rate of tax is 50 per cent," he said.

"And how would you get EU students to pay for their degrees?"

Earlier this year, Labour leadership candidate Ed Miliband wrote in an article for the Guardian that he is in favour of introducing the graduate tax.

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