Graduate tax may be introduced - graduate jobs

It has been claimed a graduate tax could see middle-class professionals forking out tens of thousands of pounds more for their degrees should it be introduced by the coalition Government.

Nurses could expect to pay an additional £36,000 over their career if a levy was fixed at 5% of total earnings, some £26,000 more than the £10,000 they pay under the current tuition fee system, according to the University and College Union (UCU). Doctors would be required to pay in excess of £70,000, while secondary school teachers could expect a bill of £46,000.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, last month said he would like to change the current system which sees care workers, research scientists and teachers pay the same for their studies as City analysts, surgeons and top lawyers.

But the idea of a "pure" levy added to income tax is not popular on the Conservative benches, with many arguing it is unfair for people to repay more than the real cost of their degree. There are also concerns that money raised would get swallowed up by the Treasury, rather than going directly to institutions.

Tory universities minister David Willetts heightened speculation that a compromise might be on the cards when he spoke in favour of a "graduate contribution" so when people "earn more then they pay more back".

"We do have a preference for a way of going forward that involves graduates after they have got into work," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.