By Mark Jones, director of Carmarthen-based Clay Shaw Butler chartered accountants and business consultants. This column appears in the Pembrokeshire Herald, Carmarthen Herald and Llanelli Herald.

The taxman at HMRC has issued a warning to taxpayers regarding the latest tax refund scams.

These scams are targeting individuals via email and SMS messages.

HMRC is currently processing genuine tax refunds for the 2017/18 tax year and the fraudsters are sending scam messages which claim that taxpayers are entitled to a rebate.

These messages go on to request that they provide their personal and account details in order to make their claim.

HMRC is keen to stress that it will only ever inform individuals of a tax refund by post or through their employer, and never via email, text messaging or voicemail.

Commenting on the issue, Treasury Minister Mel Stride said

“We know that criminals will try and use events like the end of the financial year, the self assessment deadline, and the issuing of tax refunds to target the public and attempt to get them to reveal their personal data.”

HMRC is advising taxpayers not to click on any links, download any attachments or provide any personal information, and to forward any suspect messages to HMRC.

HMRC advises customers to:

• recognise the signs – genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details
• stay safe – do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting
• take action – forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report any suspicious calls or use its online fraud reporting tool
• check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact
• if you think you have received an HMRC-related phishing/bogus email or text message, you can check it against the examples shown in this guide

HMRC has taken a range of action to protect the public from scams, including:

• from April 2017 to March 2018, reported 14,631 malicious websites for takedown
• from April 2017 to March 2018, received 771,227 customer phishing email/SMS referrals
• from April 2017 to March 2018, received 1.1 million direct visits to HMRC security pages on GOV.UK
• implemented SMS firewalling – working with industry to deliver a pilot to reduce SMS abuse, resulting in a 90% decrease in reported abuse of protected HMRC SMS tags

Internet link –

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-warns-on-tax-refund-scams

In other news, it has previously been reported that the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme State Aid approval lapsed on 6 April 2018.

HMRC had previously warned that EMI share options granted in the period from 7 April 2018 until EU State Aid approval was received may not be eligible for the tax advantages afforded to option holders but have now confirmed the scheme will operate as before.

On 15 May EU approval was granted and HMRC has now confirmed that the Enterprise Management Incentives scheme will continue to operate as before and no changes have therefore been made to the scheme.

The Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) allows selected employees (often key to the employer) to be given the opportunity to acquire a significant number of shares in their employer through the issue of options.

An EMI can offer significant tax advantages as the scheme allows options to be granted to employees which then allows shares to be acquired without any tax bill arising until the shares are sold.

For more on EMI, see this internet link –

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-related-securities-bulletin/employment-related-securities-bulletin-28-may-2018

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.

Plans to build a new £9million Welsh medium primary school in Llanelli have taken a step forward following news that a village green application for the proposed site has been declined.

Carmarthenshire County Council is proposing to build a new Ysgol Dewi Sant School at Llanerch Fields. However, objectors challenged the scheme by seeking to have the fields designated as a village green.

This week, in line with the findings of an independent inspector’s report, which has been shared with both parties, the decision has been taken to refuse the village green application.

The decision is subject to the usual call-in procedures.

It means the council can now progress its planning application for the two-storey school.

Executive Board Member for Education, Cllr Glynog Davies, has welcomed the news.

“This was the result I was hoping for,” he said. “We can now proceed with our plans for a new school for Ysgol Dewi Sant which will benefit Welsh language education in Llanelli as a whole.

“This is a high priority school for us as the current buildings are not fit for purpose and do not meet the standards that we want to achieve for our pupils and teaching staff.
“We are delighted with this news.”

The new £9.1million Welsh-medium school in Carmarthenshire, if approved by the Council’s planning committee, will accommodate 420 primary and 60 nursery pupils.

It would be set over two floors with larger classrooms with integrated IT facilities, a multi-purpose hall and specialist provision for pupils with additional learning needs.

It is proposed that it will also offer community benefits, including multi-use sports pitches and an off-site car park for school and community use.

The application follows public consultation which was carried out in September and October last year.

Carmarthenshire County Council, with support from the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools initiative, has invested more than £250million in new and renovated schools across Carmarthenshire, with more on the way.

To date, 10 new primaries and two new secondary schools have been built, with major refurbishment and extensions in another 38 primary schools and 13 secondary schools.

An exhibition of works by artists from Wales and Ohio has opened in Aberystwyth University’s Old College.

‘Paired Landscapes’ showcases more than 20 pieces of artwork about Wales and the United States, including paintings, prints and sculptures.

The work of four artists is featured: Andrew Baldwin and Bryan Thomas from Wales, and Benjy Davies and Kevin Lyles from the University of Rio Grande, Ohio.

Andrew Baldwin, who is a tutor in printmaking and photography at Aberystwyth University’s School of Art, explains: “I first met Benjy Davies (printmaker) and Kevin Lyles (sculptor) when I was fortunate enough to be asked to help forge a closer relationship between our two universities.

“Rio Grande (Ohio) has strong connections with Wales. Many of the local population are descendants of a group of Welsh immigrants who, so the story goes, travelled up a river east until they reached a landscape that reminded them of home – that was Rio Grande.”

In summer 2016, Benjy Davies and Kevin Lyles were awarded fellowships from the Madog Center for Welsh Studies to travel to Wales, where they collaborated with Andrew and south-Wales artist Bryan Thomas in a project to paint, draw and sculpt the Welsh landscape.

Andrew explains: “The Paired Landscapes project involved creating works of art which contrast the Rio Grande surroundings with the Welsh landscape. Benjy and Kevin were hugely complimentary of mid-Wales, telling me that we were so lucky to live in such a picturesque part of the world – a statement I also remember making of their beautiful countryside.”

The ‘Paired Landscapes’ exhibition is on display in the Old College until 29 September.

It is open from 10am – 4pm, Monday to Saturday. Admission is free.

Photo:  Artists Benjy Davies, Andrew Baldwin and Kevin Lyles in Trefeglwys

Aberystwyth University students are amongst the most satisfied in Wales and in the UK as a whole, according to the annual National Student Survey (NSS) published today Friday 27 July 2018.

The latest NSS results show that overall satisfaction amongst students at Aberystwyth University stands at 90% – seven percentage points higher than the average UK figure of 83%.

Aberystwyth is rated the top university in Wales for overall student satisfaction.

Aberystwyth University also outperforms the sector in the UK in all nine areas covered by the NSS.

Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Vice-Chancellor at Aberystwyth University, said: “The latest NSS results crown a remarkable year for Aberystwyth University. Last month, Aberystwyth was awarded Gold under theTeaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) and in September 2017, we were named 2018 University of the Year for Teaching Quality by TheTimes and Sunday Times Good University Guide. These achievements speak volumes about Aber’s talented and hard-working community of staff and students. As we celebrate these NSS results, we do not rest on our laurels and will use this valuable feedback to build further on these firm foundations of success.”

Professor John Grattan, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Student Experience at Aberystwyth University, said: “As a university, we put a huge amount of effort into ensuring we deliver the best possible education with a rigorous focus on how we monitor teaching, assessment and feedback, and how we track student performance during each year of their time with us. We have also invested significantly in recent years in our campus facilities and learning resources. Our continued commitment to providing an exceptional student experience is reflected not only in today’s excellent NSS results but also our TEF Gold award, and heartfelt thanks are due to our dedicated staff and students.”

Bruce Wight, President at Aberystwyth University’s Students’ Union, said: “Congratulations to Aberystwyth University on outstanding NSS results yet again this year. It’s great to see Aberystwyth producing such consistent figures year on year for student satisfaction and from these latest results, it’s clear that we’ve maintained our high standards. I’m looking forward to another year of work with the University and being able to improve the student experience even further. I’m confident that by working closely together and listening to the student body, Aberystwyth will continue to be an institution renowned for its teaching excellence as well as its supportive, friendly and safe community environment.”

The National Student Survey is conducted by IPSOS Mori on behalf of the UK’s higher education funding councils and gathers the opinions of nearly half a million final-year students in universities, colleges and alternative providers.

It asks students to score their university across a wide range of questions including quality of teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, learning community, the student voice and overall satisfaction.

The latest NSS figures follow closely on the heels of the awarding of Gold in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) which was published on Wednesday 6 June 2018.

They also follow the latest employability figures for UK universities, which showed that 96.8% of graduates were in work or further study six months after leaving Aberystwyth University (HESA 2018).

• Employability Figures at Aberystwyth University

Aberystwyth University is also the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018University of the Year for Teaching Quality.

NSS www.thestudentsurvey.com
The NSS is carried out annually by IPSOS Mori and commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS), formerly the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland, the Scottish Funding Council, Health Education England (HEE) and participating private/alternative Higher Education Providers.

About Aberystwyth University www.aber.ac.uk
Established in 1872, Aberystwyth is a leading teaching and research university. It was awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) in June 2018 and was named University of the Year for Teaching Quality in The Times | Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. In the 2018 National Student Survey, Aberystwyth was ranked the best in Wales and one of the top universities in the UK for overall student satisfaction. The latest Research Excellence Framework in 2014 reported that 95% of the research activity submitted by Aberystwyth was of an internationally recognised standard or higher. The University is a community of around 9,000 students and 2,000 staff committed to delivering teaching that inspires, research with excellence that makes an impact, engaging the world, working in partnership and investing in our future. Registered charity No 1145141.

Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy. Website – www.philevans.co.uk

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A national daily newspaper recently printed an article in which eight ‘celebrities’ revealed the Top 10 things in life they find most irritating.

Four of the ‘celebrities’ were unknown to me; three vaguely familiar; one was someone who has saved me money on electricity.

As soon as I see his face on my TV, I switch off.

Strangely, none of them included in their Top 10 that the word ‘celebrity’ is thrown around in such a cavalier manner that it can describe a talented actor like Sir Ian McKellen (who worked hard over many decades to get where he is) and any air-headed dimwit (and I’ve held back from the description I’d really like to use ) with a ‘lifestyle’ series on a digital channel so obscure, only the most dedicated fan of ‘Banality shows’ would risk getting repetitive thumb strain using their remote trying to find it.

There are many common irritations we all share, ‘celebrities’ or otherwise . . .

From getting cold calls about ‘The car accident you had earlier this year’ that makes you question your memory because you have no recollection of it – to the creeping use of Americanisms in our language.

Unfortunately, it’s too late to do anything about the way ‘research’ is now commonly referred to as ‘ree-search’ by all and sundry, including BBC News, who should know better.

That genie will never go back in the bottle.

Though I’m not alone in wanting to squeeze Huw Edwards into it.

But, if we all stand together, we can put a stop to the over use of the words ‘Guys’,’ Buddy’ and ‘Awesome!’.

When these words are used by New Yorkers walking through Central Park, that’s understandable.

When you hear them spoken by a 30-something with a man-bun and a strong ‘Kairdiff’ accent wandering down St Mary Street, they just sound ridiculous.

I do hope you agree with me . . . Dudes!

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I am thankful for the ever-growing network of caring, loving and inspiring people that continue to support me and what I do.

These people, often unsung heroes, have contributed in some way to help me bring and share what I do to a much wider audience.

Many have taught me valuable lessons and I’m sure will continue to do so.

Yes, every day is a school day.

It has often been said that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with, which includes those that we spend the most time with.

Once I read “that to move forward in life and to have peace and calm in all that we do and to grow and live life to the full we must help people and thereby attract the right people into our lives, which often means letting go and moving away from disruptive influences”.

The right people enrich the journey beyond words.

Well, this theory clearly helped the Welsh legend that is Geraint Thomas.

Yes, it’s all about the people; all the rest is just ‘stuff’.

PS: Memo to staff at BBC London and Manchester – Learn how to pronounce Geraint properly. You will need the skill in the years to come.

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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales and www.philevans.co.uk

Please again include www.philevans.co.uk