According to new findings, children as young as seven years old are having to get ‘adult’ sized school uniforms because they are overweight, which is leaving their parents with higher bills.
The increase in bills comes down to the Department of Finance’s rules on school clothing, which state that only uniforms in sizes deemed appropriate for children up to 10 years old are exempt from VAT.
The Revenue Commissioner sets the measurements for a 10-year-old child of average build at sizes up to and including a 32-inch chest or a 26-inch waist.
The Irish School Wear Association (ISWA), however, believes that these size guidelines are completely outdated.
The Irish Independent quotes ISWA spokesperson Karen Grant as saying that her team are “aware of a plethora of cases where children as young as seven require uniforms of a size too big to qualify for VAT”.
The ISWA has now presented an application to Finance Minister Michael Noonan, for his Department to re-examine the ‘zero-VAT rate’ when it comes to school clothing.
