The latest podcast from Phil Evans and Robert Lloyd.

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By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants.

HMRC has announced that it has saved the public more than £2.4m by tackling fraudsters that trick them into using premium rate phone numbers for services that HMRC provide for free.

HMRC has reported that scammers create websites that look similar to HMRC’s official site and then direct the public to call numbers with extortionate costs in comparison to the low cost and no cost services that HMRC provides.

These websites promote premium rate phone numbers as a means of telephoning HMRC but these are call forwarding services which connect the unsuspecting to HMRC at a premium rate.

HMRC’s has confirmed that its genuine 0300 numbers are mainly free or charged at the local landline rate.

In other cases, websites charge for forwarding information to HMRC which can be provided free of charge via the GOV.UK website.

HMRC has successfully challenged the ownership of these websites, masquerading as official websites, and removed them from the hands of cheats.

Analysis carried out shows that had HMRC not taken this action then the public would have lost £2.4m to these scams.

A spokesman said: “We know that HMRC is the most spoofed government brand as criminals try to take advantage of the fact that everyone has some involvement with the tax authority.

“In this particular case, scammers try to dupe the public into paying large sums for services that are available for free or low cost.

“This is a brazen con, charging premium rates whilst simply redirecting calls to the real HMRC numbers that are available at low or no cost.

“It is a testament to the hard work of HMRC that they have prevented criminals extracting £2.4m from the public.”

Internet link for more information –

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-saves-public-24m-by-stopping-fraudsters

Meanwhile, HMRC has extended the payroll Real Time Information (RTI) late filing easement until April 2019.

Under RTI payroll obligations employers must submit details of payments made to employees on or before the day that wages are paid via a Full Payment Submission.

The updated guidance extends the easement, introduced in April 2015 to April 2019.

The easement applies where an employer’s FPS is late but all reported payments on the FPS are within three days of the employees’ payday.

This easement applies from 6 March 2015 to 5 April 2019.

However, HMRC go on to clarify that employers who persistently file after the payment date but within three days may be contacted or considered for a penalty.

Potential monthly penalties range from £100 to £400 depending on the size of the employer.

Please contact the team at Clay Shaw Butler for help or advice with payroll matters.

Internet link for more information via GOV.UK PAYE guidance

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-happens-if-you-dont-report-payroll-information-on-time

In other news, HMRC proposes to introduce new VAT rules for construction services which are subject to consultation.

HMRC has published a draft statutory instrument for technical consultation together with a draft explanatory memorandum and a draft tax information and impact note.

Under the draft legislation supplies of standard or reduced-rated construction services between construction or building businesses will be subject to a domestic reverse charge.

This means that the customer will be liable to account for VAT due, instead of the supplier.

The legislation will not apply to specified supplies made to customers who are consumers, or to those that use specified supplies to make other supplies, such as those selling new houses.

The legislation is expected to take effect from 1 October 2019.

More details of the proposed new rules can be found at the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-legislation-vat-reverse-charge-for-construction-services

Finally, HMRC have issued the latest version of the Employer Bulletin.

This edition has articles on a number of issues including

• P11D and P11D(b) filing and payment deadlines
• benefits in kind with cash allowances, flexible benefits packages and salary sacrifice
• important information about childcare voucher and directly-contracted childcare schemes
• Construction Industry Scheme – helpful reminders for subcontractors

If you have any queries on payroll matters, then please contact the team at Clay Shaw Butler.

Internet link: HMRC Employer Bulletin –

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/715475/Employer_Bulletin_June_2018.pdf

You can find out more about money matters on the 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.

A free digital storytelling and photographic exhibition is taking place in Llanelli.

Carmarthenshire Voices celebrates the older people in the community and shares a moment in time.

The exhibition, held by PeopleSpeakUp, can be seen in the Ffwrnes theatre from now until Wednesday, August 29 from 11am-5 pm, Monday to Saturday.

The exhibition features artists and older people from Ty Golau, Towy Castle Care Home, Bryn Illtyd residential home and Cilymaenllwyd Care home.

Also, this weekend the Tenovus Cancer Care Sing With Us Choir of Llanelli and Carmarthen, who have been working with PeopleSpeakUp by telling their life stories, will be performing songs and stories of bravery, challenge and survival this weekend.

Performances take place on Saturday, July 28 at 7.30pm and Sunday, July 29 at 2pm in the Stiwdio Stepni, Ffwrnes.

Tickets are £8 and available from the Box Office by calling 0845 2263510 or www.theatrausirgar.co.uk.

PeopleSpeakUp is a social arts and well-being enterprise based at the Ffwrnes Theatre www.peoplespeakup.co.uk.

Bad weather, forecast for Sunday (July 29,) has forced the postponement of the Melin Sospan Sizzler Middle Distance Triathlon.

More than 200 athletes had entered for the popular annual event – sponsored by Melin Consultants, providers of sustainable building and construction solutions.

Race organiser Noelwyn Daniel announced the postponement on Thursday night after Met Office forecasts predicted a break In the summer heatwave.

He said: “We’ve had months of glorious weather, but the forecast for Sunday is bad.

‘Due to these horrendous weather predictions, with winds of more than 40mph from 9am on Sunday the safety of all athletes and volunteers could not be guaranteed.

“I’ve therefore made the call early to avoid athletes from starting their journeys.

“Athletes who have entered should check their email mailbox as a detailed email with options has been sent out.

“I’m gutted for you as athletes. You will have trained so hard for the Sizzler and I know how this really disrupts your plans. Your health and safety and that of more than 60 volunteers is my primary concern and we all get to fight another day.”

The Melin Sospan Sizzler Middle Distance Triathlon is being rescheduled for August 26 and more information on the postponed event will appear later.

See earlier story about the Melin Sospan Sizzler Middle Distance Triathlon –

http://www.melinconsultants.co.uk/melin-sospan-sizzler-middle-distance-triathlon-46.html

Photo:

Email message sent out to competitors.

Staff working on two pioneering research projects at Aberystwyth University have been selected for special recognition during Graduation Week 2018.

The Award for Exceptional Impact in Science Research was presented to Dr Andy Hardy from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences for a project which is using drones to help eliminate malaria.

The Award for Exceptional Impact in Social Science, Arts and Humanities Research was presented to Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics for their work on informingcontemporary policy on minority languages, including Welsh.

The awards have been established by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Treasure to recognise the achievements of staff who demonstrably use their research for the wider benefit of society and the inaugural winners were honoured during Graduation on Friday 20 July 2018.

Mapping Malaria

A lecturer in Remote Sensing and GPS at Aberystwyth, Dr Andy Hardy is leading a project on the island of Zanzibar using drones to map water bodies such as rivers, swamps and rice paddies where malaria-carrying mosquitoes breed and lay eggs.

The images from the drone are uploaded to a smartphone app enabling members of the local community to precisely identify where to put low-level toxicity larvicide and kill mosquito larvae at source.

Speaking about the project, Dr Hardy said: “This is a community-led intervention aimed at reducing the population of malarial carrying mosquitoes and thereby reducing malaria infection across the island, contributing to Zanzibar’s efforts to eliminate the disease once and for all. The hope is we can take this methodology and apply it across sub-Saharan Africa to have a real impact on malaria, which is one of the world’s biggest killers.”

The project is funded by the Innovative Vector control consortium, a not-for-profit company supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Aid and other organisations.

Minority Language Revitalisation

Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics are working together on a research programme on minority language revitalisation.

Senior Lecturer Dr Elin Royles said: “Responding to the worldwide decline in linguistic and cultural diversity is increasingly seen as a global challenge which is occupying the attention of various campaigners and policy makers. As part of our research work, we’ve worked with the University of Edinburg to set up a network bringing together a range of different academic scholars and policy practitioners. Our overall aim, based on those discussions, is to identify best practice and help inform policy makers not only in Wales but also in other countries involved in trying to promote minority languages.”

Lecturer Dr Huw Lewis said: “One of the big questions for us is to what extent are those who are involved in developing and formulating policies to revitalise minority languages are really taking account of the global changes in the way we live our lives today and the implications of these transformations for language promotion efforts.”

Dr Catrin Edwards, a lecturer in the Department of International Politics and an expert on the implications of international migration for minority lanuage communities, said: “Wales is an evident example of the efforts to respond to the global challenge of revitalising minority language, with the Welsh Government setting a target of realising a million Welsh speakers by 2050. Our work aims to identify lessons from research that can be fed into the work of policy makers both in Wales and the wider world.”

Revitalise is a two-year project which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Photo: Aberystwyth University’s inaugural Awards for Exceptional Impact in Research were presented during Graduation 2018 by Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Grattan to Dr Andy Hardy from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, and Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics with Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Grattan.

Links:
DGES
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges

International Politics

https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/interpol

Research, Business and Innovation

https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/rbi