The latest Clay Shaw Butler Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald

The latest Clay Shaw Butler Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald.
By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants.

Charity begins at home, they say - and we know that we are all a generous lot when it comes to helping others in West Wales.
Many of us have strong links with charities and many play key roles as officers and volunteers for various charitable causes.
So, here’s the latest news on the charity front for ‘Money Matters’ readers -
In September, the taxman at HMRC updated the detailed guidance notes which outline how the tax system operates for charities.
The notes include how to apply to be recognised as a charity for tax and the operation of gift aid and payroll giving.
Over the last five years, the Government has brought in a range of changes to the tax system to make it simpler for charities to make the most of tax reliefs, so that more money can go to good causes.
Gift aid small donation scheme:
Through the gift aid small donations scheme charities can claim a gift aid-style top-up on small donations eg a donation to a charity vendor in the street, up to a limit of £5,000 per year. This limit will increase to £8,000 per year from April 2016.
Charities online:
Charities can submit claims for gift aid tax relief online which speeds up the claims process. 95% of charities now use this online system and the claims are processed within five working days.
HMRC outreach team:
To date an HMRC outreach team has delivered face-to-face presentations to over 650 charities to spread awareness and help charities to successfully claim tax relief.
Community amateur sports clubs:
The Government has amended the law so that local sports clubs registered as community amateur sports clubs can receive corporate gift aid to help these clubs benefit their local communities.
Social investment tax relief:
The social investment tax relief scheme has been created to encourage people to invest in social enterprises including charities. Individuals making an eligible investment will be able to deduct 30% of the cost of that investment from their income tax liability.
Lower IHT rate:
If people leave at least 10% of the net value of their estate (its worth, minus any debt, other liabilities and reliefs) to charity, then 36% inheritance tax can be paid instead of 40%.
If you want further details on the tax treatment of charities, please contact us at Clay Shaw Butler.
In other news, The Pensions Regulator, TPR has issued the latest statistic on how automatic enrolment and workplace pension schemes are working.
By March 2015, more than 5.2 million workers had been successfully automatically enrolled since the reforms began in 2012, an increase of more than 2.2 million workers from 2014, and 4.2 million from 2013.
Automatic enrolment is helping to turn around the decade-long decline in pension provision, with 59% of all employees now active members of a pension scheme, compared with just 47% in 2012. This increase suggests that pension saving is now becoming the norm.
The pensions landscape has been transformed as the majority of people are enrolled into defined contribution schemes. TPR reports a growth in master trusts - 94% of employers who chose a trust-based scheme opted for a master trust.
TPR now expects that significantly more employers will be subject to automatic enrolment duties than originally anticipated, mainly due to an increase in the number of new companies that have started up, and fewer going out of business than was forecast.
If you would like help with your payroll or advice on Pensions Auto Enrolment, please contact us.
News in brief . . .
Deadline for 'paper' self assessment tax returns:
For those individuals who have previously submitted 'paper' self assessment tax returns the deadline for the 2014/15 return is 31 October 2015. Returns submitted after that date must be submitted electronically or they will incur a minimum penalty of £100. The penalty applies even when there is no tax to pay or the tax is paid on time.
Autumn Statement date announced
The Government has announced that the date of the Autumn Statement will be 25 November 2015. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced that there will be an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast alongside the Spending Review on Wednesday 25 November 2015. The government will therefore publish a joint Autumn Statement and Spending Review on this date.
We will keep you informed of key announcements.
You can find out more about money matters on the new-look Clay Shaw Butler website (under our news for business section) -
http://www.clayshawbutler.com/news/latest-news-for-business
We have a strong and experienced team with great local knowledge all geared-up to helping you get the very best from your finances – whether that is as an individual or as a business.
We stay ahead of the game by putting great store by continual professional development for our staff.
With Investors In People status at Clay Shaw Butler, we care passionately about making sure our staff have all the tools they need to serve you, our customers.

Weblink -http://www.clayshawbutler.com
The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500.
The team at Clay Shaw Butler are on Twitter. Look for @clayshawbutler.