Rishi Sunak ditches plan to charge income tax on coronavirus tests in latest government u-turn

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ditched plans to charge income tax on coronavirus tests in a U-turn after the proposal sparked outrage.

The move came after the chancellor was challenged in the House of Commons by a senior Tory MP who warned it would lead to key workers being left out of pocket for tests to show they are safe to work.

The potential charge emerged in new guidance from HM Revenue and Customs, which stated: “Coronavirus (Covid-19) testing kits or tests carried out by a third party which have been purchased by you to provide to your employees, are treated as a taxable benefit in kind on the employee.”

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