They Giveth ... But They Can Also Taketh Away

One of the mainstays in the NTI newsroom is Aarati who, she claims, was so named because her Caribbean mother wanted her to come early on in the telephone directory (as such there were, then) if she ever decided to become a plumber. Her name, I think, means 'small sliver of goat's dung slipping slowly and gracefully into the sea'. Aarati is working on a big lead on Pre-Pack Pools and found this interesting little scrap below as she was digging. "Okay, make THIS interesting," she harrumphed, as she disappeared into the NTI canteen to heat up a breakfast shabaati, "Mr Witty ..." she added from behind the door.

Slipping beneath many a radar was some published draft legislation from HMRC on 29 May providing for the taxation of Covid-19 grants. Did any of you just go cold in the stomach as you read that? That's right, taxation of grants. Have you spent all of yours? The consultation on this draft legislation has now closed, and it will take effect from the date of Royal Assent of the Finance Bill 2020. Get this; the legislation covers:

> Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
> Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
> Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF)
> Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF)
> Discretionary Grant Fund (DGF)
> Other parallel schemes in the devolved administrations, and other payments made, or schemes provided, by public authorities in response to COVID-19