Chancellor must agree to not tax the Covid social care bonus

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has today written to Rishi Sunak, calling for him to agree to not tax the Welsh social care ‘thank you’ payment.

On 1st of May, the First Minister announced a £500 ‘Covid Thank You payment’ for social care staff. This payment was to show appreciation for all the hard work our hard working carers had undertaken during the pandemic.

However, almost three months later, this payment still hasn’t materialised. It has transpired that the reason for this is a disagreement over whether the payment will be subject to tax.

This disagreement mean that for some the £500 reward could end up being as little as £125, after Tax and National Insurance contributions – should the UK Treasury refuse to waive the traditional tax implications.

In response, Jane Dodds has written to the Chancellor – urging him to take “swift action to break this logjam” and agree not to tax the payment.

Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:

“Our brave social care workers have, for too long, been undervalued and underpaid. Their exemplary work during this pandemic needs to be appreciated and rewarded.

“I am frankly shocked that, three months on, they are still waiting for this payment to be made. What is even more shocking is that the reason it hasn’t been paid is due to the UK Treasury insisting upon taxing it.

“At a time when we are still battling the Coronavirus, we should be rallying together to thank those who work hard to keep us safe and well. The UK Government has previously pledged to do “whatever it takes”, they now need to live up to those words.

“The Chancellor must agree to not tax this payment, so we can break the jogjam and get this money in people’s pockets now.”