U.K. Chancellor Prepping for Virus Hitting Tax Office Workers

The U.K. government is planning for the possibility that the new coronavirus outbreak could hit workers in key departments like Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told lawmakers.

“We can’t rely on us having full capacity” and are designing plans with that in mind, Sunak said at a hearing in front of the Treasury Select Committee Wednesday.

• Sunak highlighted the potential personnel shortage as one of the factors why the government actions to boost the economy have focused on measures they can deploy quickly, within the next few days and weeks.
• The government announced Tuesday that it would waive business rates—property tax on commercial real estate—for all companies within the retail, hospitality, and leisure industries in a move that is forecast to cost the government 11 billion pounds ($12.8 billion).