Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

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. In last week’s Money Matters, we stressed the importance of sticking to deadlines – particularly when it comes to tax matters. Keeping a regular, updated calendar of key taxation dates is very important on a business and a personal level when it comes of money management At Clay Shaw Butler, we have an online calendar of upcoming key taxation dates on our website. But, in case you don’t have access to that, here are a few helpful dates for the rest of the year . . . October 2017 Thursday October 19 PAYE quarterly payments are due for small employers for the pay periods 6th July 2017 to 5th October 2017. This deadline is relevant to small employers only. As a small employer with income tax, national insurance and student loan deductions of less than £1,500 a month you are required to make payment ...

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. Deadlines are so important in the world of business – particularly when it comes to tax matters. At Clay Shaw Butler, we recognise how important deadlines are by helping our customers with a regularly-updated calendar of upcoming key taxation dates. Here is what’s coming up during the rest of this year . . . August 2017 Saturday August 19 PAYE, Student loan and CIS deductions are due for the month to 5th August 2017. This deadline is relevant to employers who have made PAYE deductions from their employees' salaries and to contractors who have paid subcontractors under the CIS. Employers are required to make payment to HMRC of the income tax, national insurance and student loan deductions. Contractors are required to make payment to HMRC of the tax deductions made from subcontractors under th...

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. This week, we are continuing our review of Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first (and last) Autumn Statement. We’ve covered personal taxation changes and some business taxation matters. As usual with Budgets and Autumn Statements, there is a lot of detail to cover. This week, we continue on business matters from the Autumn Statement. Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR): From 6 April 2017, the amount of investment that social enterprises aged up to seven years old can raise through SITR will increase to £1.5 million. Investment in nursing homes and residential care homes will be excluded initially, however the government intends to introduce an accreditation system to allow such investment to qualify for SITR in the future. The limit on full-time equivalent employees for a qualifying social enterpri...

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. It’s usually very near the top of the agenda for small businesses – VAT, or Value Added Tax. If you are starting or have recently started a business, you need to comply with the VAT regulations. VAT registered businesses act as unpaid tax collectors and are required to account both promptly and accurately for all the tax revenue collected by them. The VAT system is policed by HMRC with heavy penalties for breaches of the legislation. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for not complying with the rules. We highlight below some of the areas that you need to consider. It is, however, important for you to seek specific professional advice appropriate to your circumstances. What is VAT? A transaction is within the scope of VAT if: there is a supply of goods or services  made in the UK  b...

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. The taxman at HMRC regularly comes up with handy advice for anyone dealing with finance. HMRC have published the latest issue of the Employer Bulletin with articles on a variety of topics relevant to employers. One article advises that HMRC have issued the Quarter 1 late filing penalty notices, which cover the period 6 April to 5 July 2016 and have confirmed that these penalties will continue to be issued on a risk assessed basis. HMRC have confirmed that a late filing penalty will generally not be charged for delays of up to three days after the statutory filing date, but that they may contact employers who persistently file after the statutory filing date but within three days, and they risk being considered for a penalty. The Bulletin includes advice on how to appeal against a penalty online ...

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. We often get questions from charities and community groups in West Wales looking for clarification on how Gift Aid works. The tax people at HMRC have updated their guidance for charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASC) on claiming Gift Aid on donations. The guidance has been amended to reflect updated guidance on the retail Gift Aid process operated by charity shops on donated goods. Gift Aid can be claimed on donations of money made by an individual UK income taxpayer. It’s an easy way to help your charity or community amateur sports club (CASC) maximise the value of donations. To claim Gift Aid, you must be recognised by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as a charity or CASC and you’ll need to ask donors to make a Gift Aid declaration. In certain circumstances, some payments made to chari...

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. Over the last two weeks in Money Matters we have put the spotlight on changes to pension schemes. We have put particular focus on ‘pensions auto enrolment’. The Government is placing greater responsibility and sometimes higher costs on employers. Employers are/will be required to provide access to pension provision for their employees. Here is the scenario for employers with less than 50 employees but are part of a larger PAYE scheme. For example, the company is part of a group of companies and the company has a shared scheme with other employers. There are special rules for such employers. An employer can find out the detailed staging date rules from www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk . Employers are required to write to all workers (except those aged under 16, or 75 and over) explaining what aut...

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. The taxman at HMRC has always had procedures in place to deal with complaints. These procedures have now been extended to include an online form which can be used to make complaints about your self-assessment and PAYE. The guidance also includes other ways to complain. Of course, if you would like help with PAYE or self assessment issues, please contact us at Clay Shaw Butler. If you want further information about making a complaint directly to the taxman, then you can go to this website address - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complain-to-hm-revenue-and-customs Here’s what the official Government website has to say about complaints to HMRC - Examples of things that you might not be happy with are: unreasonable delays  mistakes  how HMRC have treated you  The advice is to cont...

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. Organisation is everything when it comes to keeping on top of your tax affairs, both in business and personal life. Having a reliable calendar is crucial to making sure you do not miss any important deadline dates. Here at Clay Shaw Butler, we have constructed a tax calendar to help you with key deadlines and milestones. Here are some of the up and coming events you need to be aware of - September 2016 Monday 19 PAYE, Student loan and CIS deductions are due for month to 5th September 2016. This deadline is relevant to employers who have made PAYE deductions from their employees' salaries and to contractors who have paid subcontractors under the CIS. Employers are required to make payment to HMRC of the income tax, national insurance and student loan deductions. Contractors are required to mak...

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. Anyone who has had to deal with putting a child through university will understand that student loans can be complicated. It’s a bit of a test for mums and dads, but the end results are so worth it. But what happens when student life is over and everyone has to put thoughts to repaying loans? Well, the tax guys at HMRC have issued updated guidance to employers on how to deal with student loan deductions via the PAYE system. Employers should familiarise themselves with the guidance which has been updated to reflect the introduction of plan 2 loans which are repayable from a different threshold but at the same nine percent basis. With effect from the 2016/17 tax year there are two plan types for student loan repayments: plan 1 with a threshold of £17,495 (£1,457 a month or £336 per week)  pla...

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. Small businesses now have a better understanding of their duties under the Government’s pensions auto-enrolment programme. That’s according to the latest research by The Pensions Regulator, TPR. The research is based on surveys carried out between February and April 2016. It showed the understanding among small employers of their duties under pensions auto-enrolment saw a significant rise from 68% to 81%. The Executive Director of Automatic Enrolment, Charles Counsell said: “More than 9 in 10 small employers are now aware of automatic enrolment, and there is now almost universal engagement from business advisers helping their clients to carry out their duties. “This is the first employers’ survey since large numbers of small and micro employers have begun to visit TPR’s website for help in meetin...

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. The taxman at HMRC is advising employers that their employees may benefit from accessing their Personal Tax Account. These accounts allow taxpayers to view information about their tax affairs and advise HMRC online about changes that may affect the tax they pay. The services available through the Personal Tax Account include: checking income tax estimates and tax codes  advising HMRC about changes affecting company cars  using the online forms available to claim tax deductible work expenses or a tax refund  checking the expected level of their state pension  renewing tax credits  advising HMRC of a change of address.  In a recent development, the system for registering for this service has been revised and it is now possible to register using your National Ins...

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. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has called for banks and charities to take greater responsibility for those who may be vulnerable to scams. The CTSI commissioned a report from Bournemouth University’s National Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work into scam victims, and its recommendations to financial institutions and charities include: recognising their duty of care to dementia sufferers who could make an ‘unwise decision’ as a result of their cognitive state  allowing vulnerable people to put a 24 hour delay on new or large transactions from leaving their bank accounts and sending an email or text alerting a carer or loved one at the start of that period  adopting a default that personal data is not shared without a clear opt in and that it is not held for longer ...

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. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has called for banks and charities to take greater responsibility for those who may be vulnerable to scams. The CTSI commissioned a report from Bournemouth University's National Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work into scam victims, and its recommendations to financial institutions and charities include: recognising their duty of care to dementia sufferers who could make an 'unwise decision' as a result of their cognitive state allowing vulnerable people to put a 24 hour delay on new or large transactions from leaving their bank accounts and sending an email or text alerting a carer or loved one at the start of that period adopting a default that personal data is not shared without a clear opt in and that it is not held for longer...

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. Regular readers of Money Matters will recall that last week we started to turn the spotlight on money laundering. We explained how some businesses and organisations were part of what is called ‘The regulated sector’. Money laundering legislation relates to anyone in what is termed as the ‘regulated sector’, which includes but is not limited to: accountants and auditors  tax advisers  financial institutions  credit institutions  dealers in high value goods (including auctioneers dealing in goods) whenever a transaction involves accepting a total cash payment equivalent to 15,000 Euros or more, whether in a single operation or in several operations that are linked  casinos  estate agents  some management consultancy services  company formation agents...

The latest Clay Shaw Butler Money Matters column from the Carmarthenshire Herald and the Llanelli Herald. By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. Being thorough comes as second nature to us chartered accountants. Which is why the Money Matters column is continuing to dissect the Government’s most recent Budget changes. This week, we take a look at the complicated world of Capital Taxes. Here are some of the key areas where the Government has taken action – Capital gains tax (CGT) rates The current rates of CGT are 18% to the extent that any income tax basic rate band is available and 28% thereafter. The government is to reduce the higher rate of CGT from 28% to 20% and the basic rate from 18% to 10%. The trust CGT rate will also reduce from 28% to 20%. The 28% and 18% rates will continue to apply for carried interest and for chargeable gains on residential property that do not qualify for private residence relief. I...

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. Keeping up to speed with changes in employment taxes is crucial – both for employers and employees. Here are some of the latest changes in rules and regulations. Employer provided cars The scale of charges for working out the taxable benefit for an employee who has use of an employer provided car are now announced well in advance. Most cars are taxed by reference to bands of CO2 emissions. There is a 3% diesel supplement. The maximum charge is capped at 37% of the list price of the car. From 6 April 2016 there is a 2% increase in the percentage applied by each band with similar increases in 2017/18 and 2018/19. For 2019/20 the rate will increase by a further 3%. From 6 April 2017 the appropriate percentage for cars which have neither a CO2 emissions figure nor an engine cylinder capacity...

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. This week’s Money Matters column continues where we left off last week in discussing the changes to personal taxation in the latest Budget from Chancellor George Osborne. The issues fall under a number of headings . . . Tax on savings income: Savings income is income such as bank and building society interest. In 2015/16 some individuals qualify for a 0% starting rate of tax on savings income up to £5,000. However, the rate is not available if taxable non-savings income (broadly earnings, pensions, trading profits and property income) exceeds the starting rate limit. The starting rate limit remains at £5,000 for 2016/17. In addition, from 2016/17 the Savings Allowance (SA) will apply to savings income. Income within the SA will be taxed at a new 0% rate (the 'savings nil rate'). However, ...