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The Government just introduced a bill to allow deductions for certain expenses by individuals on COVID tests, and I feel sorry for the person who had to write it.

Remember before this change, if an individual wants to claim a deduction for an expense they need to find a specific deduction provision or use the general deduction provision in section 8-1. This state:

So it has to be incurred in gaining your assessable income. So now lets read the new section, section 25-125, on claiming the costs of COVID tests…

Under this section, if you purchase a COVID test and it is incurred in gaining or producing assessable income… wait a minute… if it is incurred in gaining or producing assessable income it was already deductible under section 8-1.

Just imagine being told to write a new section that makes something deductible that is already deductible… and using the same words as the section that already makes it deductible…