Reuters Neil Hall

PRINCE HARRY helped lead a polo team to victory in a charity match before a society crowd last month in Greenwich, wrapping up a weeklong visit to the United States in which he also toured areas devastated by Superstorm Sandy and avoided the kind of salacious headlines stirred by his last American tour.

The prince scored a game-tying goal in the match to benefit Sentebale, the charity he co-founded to help poor children and AIDS orphans in the small African nation of Lesotho.

“Thank you for a wonderful week,” Prince Harry said in a speech before taking to the manicured field at the Greenwich Polo Club. “I have witnessed the extraordinary generosity of the people of this great nation.”

The match drew an invitation-only crowd of about 400 including supermodel Karolina Kurkova and fashion designers Jason Wu and Valentino, who posed for pictures on a red carpet at the club on their way to lunch with the prince.

“Is the sun coming out?” Kurkova asked as she posed in a light rain.

Greenwich, a New York City suburb, ranks among the wealthiest towns in America and is hardly unaccustomed to fanfare. But for some, the royal visit of the 28-year-old prince still was cause for celebration.

PARTY

At the Atelier360 shop on Greenwich Avenue, the company was holding a party with tea and cucumber sandwiches. Co-owner Veronique Lee said British designers are well represented at the boutique, which sells items including hand bags, flasks and cuff links.

“We like royalty. What can you say?” Lee said. “We’re having a lot of fun here.”

The polo club, founded by billionaire Peter Brant in 1981, has hosted other British royals including the Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, in 1987 and Torquhil Campbell, the Scottish Duke of Argyll, in 2012. Brant said Wednesday that Harry’s father and grandfather were good players and he was excited to watch Harry play at his club.

“It’s a great honor,” he said “It’s great for polo.”

Dressed in a navy-colored suit, white shirt and no tie, the prince arrived at the club in the late morning and was greeted by Brant and his wife, model Stephanie Seymour. They viewed a selection of art from the Brant Foundation Art Study Center as well as some paintings owned Brant, including some pieces by Andy Warhol, in the club’s entrance hall.

ATHLETICISM

After trying his hand at baseball in New York City earlier in the week, Harry showed his athleticism playing “the sport of kings.” Harry scored a goal to tie the polo match at 3-3, and his team went on to a 4-3 win. Dawn Jones, the wife of actor Tommy Lee Jones, scored for the opposing team and was named most valuable player.

Connecticut Gov Dannel Malloy was not among the invited. “He’s more of a hockey guy, anyway,” Malloy spokesman David Bednarz told the Greenwich Time.

Prince Harry also touted the work of Sentebale and thanked people for their support of the charity. Sentebale – which means “forget-me-not” – is a charity founded by Harry and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso that helps children struggling with poverty in the tiny southern African country.

“The HIV pandemic continues to leave thousands of children without parents and family structures to guide them through life,” the prince said. “Without this support, basic needs such as food, shelter and care remain unmet, leaving children vulnerable and very often without much hope in their lives.”

HEADLINES

On his last US visit, the third-in-line to the British throne stormed into the headlines last year when he was caught frolicking in the nude with a woman after an alleged game of strip billiards in his Las Vegas hotel room.

The Greenwich visit struck a lighter tone than his stop the previous day in New Jersey, where he toured two shore communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie showed the prince a spot in Mantoloking where the sea had cut the town in half, taking out a bridge and houses. The channel has since been filled in. Every one of the wealthy town’s 521 homes was damaged or destroyed. Scores remain as piles of rubble.

“This used to be a house?” Prince Harry asked at one barren spot.

The prince said he was impressed to see “everyone getting together and making things right.”

He also spent time in New York City at events promoting tourism, entrepreneurism and philanthropy.

– By Michael Melia

NBC TAKES OVER FROM FOX SOCCER

NBC has moved into English football in a big way and has revealed ambitious plans to bring the Premier League into more US homes than ever before.

NBC executives recently unveiled their plans for EPL coverage, which include:

•  20 Premier League matches to be televised live on NBC’s free-to-air channel over the course of the 2013-14 season,

•  Every single EPL match will be streamed for free via NBC Sports Live Extra, which is available online and on iPhone and Android devices with authenticated sign-on via participating TV providers (more on that later),

•  Premier League matches will be shown live on television each gameweek with NBC Sports Network showing the Saturday 7:45am ET and 10am ET kickoffs as well as the Sunday early kickoff (typically 8:30am ET) and weekday matches. Telemundo will show 10am ET matches, while NBC free-to-air will feature the Saturday 12.30pm ET matches. Last but not least, NBC Sports Network will feature the Sunday 11am ET matches. All games will be shown live.

•  Presenters of the games each week will include Rebecca Lowe, Arlo White, Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle. They’ll be joined by Gary Lineker, Graeme Le Saux and Lee Dixon. Lineker will host from the UK on occasion while White, Dixon and Le Saux will be on-site commentators.

NBC Sports is highlighting that its channel is watched in twice the number of homes than FOX Soccer. Plus all of the games will be streamed live if your TV provider has an agreement in place with NBC. Additionally some TV providers will have games available via alternate TV channels.

According to EPLtalk.com, a popular soccer website, fans should check whether their provider has an agreement with NBC. If their TV provider isn’t one of the ones listed here that has an agreement with NBC Sports Live Extra – Comcast xFinity TV, Verizon FIOS, Cablevision or Suddenlink – they will need to contact them and express their wish that the games be shown before the new season next August.

Great link here on epltalk.com listing all the servers with no NBC agreement on footy next season – and the emails, twitter, phones etc!
http://epltalk.com/2013/04/23/want-access-to-all-of-nbcs-epl-coverage-its-time-to-take-action/

FOR UK VISITORS DRIVING IN FLORIDA. (Tell the ones in your life!)

“After offending tourists and causing havoc in local tourism offices, and likely running afoul of the Geneva Convention, the State of Florida lawmakers completed a speedy about-face yesterday officially repealing a hastily-created and little-noticed 2011 law requiring foreign tourists to get a special newly-created International Driving Permit,” trumpeted the Miami Herald front page April 3, 2013. More than 10 million visitors from other countries – many from the UK – visited the Sunshine State last year and Governor Scott said he wanted to make them feel more welcome. So this means British tourists can drive here on their International Driver’s Licences as they always have – no additional permit needed. Find official Driving in Florida info always on www.flhsmv.gov

■ SARASOTA’S 4 & 20 PASTY CELEBRATES TEN YEARS. I’m devoting exceptional space to congratulate Londoners Richard and Barbra Posner on a solid expat achievement 10 years in business this month. In their own words: “We wanted to serve America with the best of British foods,” Richard told me. “We relocated to Sarasota from London in 1990 and the first 10 plus years, in a different business, we thoroughly integrated into the American way of life and food. Then we started missing the British specialities we enjoyed on trips home – pasties, sausage rolls and pork pies, back bacon and good old British Bangers etc. We bought some of the frozen pies and sausages from our local Florida supermarkets but were disappointed and sure someone could do better. Why not us? We were former experienced and successful restaurateurs in the West End of London, serving thousands a week including the famous and infamous – even Princess Diana and Prince William, so skilled in high quality foodservice production. On selling our previous business in Sarasota 2001 it was decided almost instantly to return to the vocation and develop a range of authentic tasting and upscale British products that our fellow ex-pat Brit countrymen and Commonwealth cousins could really enjoy and actually be proud of. It was a major challenge to source US vendors to supply authentic flavored components like pork banger sausages and other essentials, but we finally succeeded, working with vendors from local to North Carolina, or anyone who could supply “the best”. After a year of intensive research into recipes, sources and resources, we located, developed and opened the 4 & 20 Pasty Company in 2003. But only offering traditional Cornish Pasties is boring and unlikely to be successful in creating a market, so why just stop there? Why not wrap a whole range of pie favorites, include vegetarians, a few sweet desserty ones as well into a fine pastry case. People love to eat on the go and a hot, baked Pasty Pie in a great outdoor jacket is an excellent way to eat a (much healthier) To-Go meal. We use only the finest freshest ingredients, without preservatives, MSG or chemical enhancements, being chefs after all, not chemists. And the pastry? Experimenting with American lard it was tough, too crunchy and oddly flavored, so we developed and make a buttery, flaky pastry from scratch, gaining endless compliments. We served our pasty pies and specialities in the bakery hot to-go and frozen for re-heating anytime later, which kicked off a storm in Sarasota. Soon snowbirds asked us to ship, so in 2005 we created our website and started shipping freezer packages all over the States. They started telling their friends, both expat and American, and asked their local Britstore to stock our products so individual ship costs wouldn’t be such a problem. This can only be done under Federal USDA supervision, so in 2007 we were granted our USDA production certificates. Now we have successful stockists in Dallas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Naples Florida and other cities, plus a start with The Fresh Market group, who sought us out. For six years we won “Best Fast Food in Sarasota” by the Creative Loafing local newspaper and a USA Bronze Medal in the UK’s Weekly Telegraph worldwide Best Of British competition.

CHALLENGES: But It has certainly not been a smooth, easy ride. Firstly, America at large knows nothing (or cares little) about Pasties or their benefits/pleasures, and seem to have proved as suspicious of “foreign food” as Brits used to be in the 50s. They also call them “Paystees”, which is confusing and uncomplimentary. (We tell them that if that was correct, the lurex might stick in their teeth!) They’re “Passtees!” Plus we’ve had to work through the recession as well, like most. A number of our Britstore customers went under in the last four years with insufficient business and with competition from some supermarkets carrying staple Brit groceries in the “Ethnic Aisle” which rather amused us. This limits our market and we’re not out of the woods quite yet. Shipping charges have also continuously risen in line with gas prices, limiting growth. But in spite of this, we have refused to compromise our quality or our mission – to provide the source of standout British foods for customers so no Brit need be here without a ready source of their finest, most authentic British-style favourites, supplied with competence, good service and smiles. We are proud of our standards and to have served our community for a whole decade! Contact Sarasota Pasty Co (941) 927-1421 and see all they offer in their ad this issue.

■ BRITISH SINGER-GUITARIST, hit recording artist and former teen heartthrob legend Peter Frampton at the HardRock Hollywood, Friday May 31. For ticket info www.myhrl.com or Box Office (954) 327-ROCK.

■ WORLDWIDE SENSATIONS British boyband One Direction appear June 13 at Ft Lauderdale’s BBT Center in Ft Lauderdale and June 14, 2013 at Miami’s AA Arena. For tickets www.livenation.com

■ NEWS OF THE BOOZE Another British Pub in Florida bites the dust, but in this case all is not lost. In Palm Beach (Wellington) The Gypsey’s Horse, owned by veteran British publican Paul Rowan has closed. But Paul told me it is being remodelled into an authentic Irish pub by an Irish pub expert and will reopen in about two months as a stunning new destination. Troubling Fact: The UK Chancellor told Parliament MP’s last month that 10,000 English pubs had been forced to close across the country in the last decade. Oh it’s so not the country we over 40’s grew up in.

■ PAUL McCARTNEY’S ONLY FLORIDA STOP on his all-new 2013 “Out There” tour is at Orlando’s Amway Center May 18. This is a never-before-seen production, featuring hours of material from the most beloved catalogue in popular music, with McCartney performing songs spanning his entire career – as a solo artist, member of Wings and of course The Beatles. The McCartney Live experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For about three hours, many of the greatest moments of the last 50 years of musical history – not to mention the soundtracks of entire lives – are magically brought to life as only his career music can do. For ticket information www.livenation.com See his own website always www.paulmccartney.com for official news and updates.

To cook or not to cook? – that’s the question … Why on earth not? – that’s the answer!”

– (Original/ Sandra!)

I HAVE had a few requests for Scotch eggs, and on my checking, realized that I last featured it my second column … so a good 20 years ago! This is a very popular picnic food, and pub fare, but good too for buffets, and can be made plain and simple or fancy … using quail eggs for instance.(!) One of our Sarasota Brit Club members has made these as a treat at our board meetings … (thank you Jane!)

These are originally a Scottish specialty and part of the great Scottish breakfast, but were gradually incorporated into the English eating habits, often served with chutney or even gravy, but my favourite accompaniment is still HP sauce! I’ve seen some absolutely horrid ones in the British supermarkets, with ghastly orange coloured breadcrumbs, and tough as old nick.

Different recipes I have include Delia Smith using onions and lots of herbs, and Gary Rhodes likes to use lemon zest and mace, he even has a recipe version using Scotch whiskey which is reduced and used as a sauce with mayonnaise and English mustard.

They are bit fiddling to make, but worth the effort, whenever I have made them they are very popular, and when we catered I would cut them a bit smaller, and they were usually the first thing to go on a buffet table.

It helps to have an electric fryer … something most English households have for their chips! … if not use a deep good quality heavy saucepan. I also prefer to make them the same as my sausage rolls, using ground pork and ground turkey, it makes a more interesting flavor. Don’t use sausage meat that is spiced, need to use plain, I used to like Jimmy Deans brand here in the States. There are many, many suggestions for hard boiling eggs, but my favourite way is to put the eggs in a deep saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, simmer for five minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Pour off hot water, cover with cold, let sit a few minutes then drain. Toss the eggs gently in the saucepan, and usually the shells will peel off easily. (The older the egg the harder to peel.)

I hope you enjoy my version.

Scotch Eggs

1/2 lb unseasoned ground pork
1/2 lb unseasoned ground turkey
1/2 tsp sage
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
8 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup seasoned flour with salt and pepper
Oil for frying
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 cup plain fresh breadcrumbs

Combine the sausage meat and herbs. Divide the meat mixture into eight even rounds, wrap each hard-boiled egg, covering completely … using a plastic wrap may help. Start heating the oil to about 350-375 degrees F (Need to use a thermometer, if you don’t have one, try testing the temperature using a cube of bread, which should turn golden brown within a minute) Roll the eggs in the flour, then the beaten eggs, then the breadcrumbs.

Deep fry in the heated oil about 10 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the sausage is cooked. Drain on paper towels. Serve whole or cut into wedges with your favourite relish or sauce. Can be eaten hot or cold (Yield eight servings)

(I welcome comments, requests and recipes, and can be reached at Yourcuppatea1@yahoo.com)

THERE HAVE been two enormous stories running this month on Coronation Street and we’ll kick off with the main one which has been the Rovers Return going up in flames. Yes, the nation’s favourite pub burns to the ground after Karl Munro pours petrol in the cellar and sets it ablaze. Angry Karl is jealous of Stella’s new toy-boy fella Jason Grimshaw and decides to teach Stella a lesson by burning down her pub. But he’s caught in the act by Sunita – and instead of helping her out of the burning pub, Karl leaves Sunita in the pub when the flames take hold. As the firefighters work to put out the blaze, one of them dies as an explosion rips through the upstairs of the pub. Down in the cellar, Sunita’s dragged to safety and is rushed to hospital. Nervous that she’ll recover from her trauma to tell everyone that Karl is to blame for the blaze, Karl ensures Sunita doesn’t live to tell the tale and he pulls out her breathing tube as she lies unconscious in her hospital bed. Dev breaks down and cries when he hears the news that his wife has passed away and steals himself to break the sad news to their twins as Karl works his way into an unknowing Stella’s good books again.

The other huge storyline which ends this month is the domestic abuse storyline after almost a year of trouble and trial for poor Tyrone. He’s finally called to have his day in court after Kirsty turns the tables on him and lies to the cops that he was the one who was beating her up. She’s determined to make him suffer in court but just as it looks like poor Tyrone is going to get a grilling, crazy Kirsty stumbles into the court room with baby Ruby in her arms. “He’s not a monster!” she tells the stunned court room. “I am!”. And so the truth is finally out, the court case is dismissed and Kirsty is found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice. Tyrone’s a free man and returns home to rebuild his life with his child.

But it’s not all been bad news this month. Oh hang on, this is soap, yes it has! What starts off as a nicely romantic story when young Chesney proposes to Katy turns into bitterness when Chesney finds out that Katy has been seeing Ryan and kissing him behind the counter in the kebab shop. Chesney throws Katy out of the house, gets drunk at the Bistro and tries to give Eva some dodgy chat-up lines. Eva tells him to come back when he’s more sober, older and taller.

Over at Roy’s Rolls, Sylvia starts eating brownies laced with cannabis after Stan from the pensioner’s 1o’clock club gets her hooked. She tells him she’s eating the space cakes to relieve the pain in her arthritic wrist but she seems to be enjoying them just a little too much. Dennis knows what she’s up to and tries to get Stan to bring in more space cakes for him, well, he has got a bad back, you know.

And finally this month, Gail moves in with Sally after being unable to put up with knowing the truth that her son Nick could be the father of her other son David’s wife’s baby. It’s too much for Gail and she moves along the street to live with her old mate Sally. But the arrangement’s not suiting Sally too well as Gail begins to grate and an old friendship is stretched to its limit. After a heart-to-heart with her daughter-in-law Kylie, Gail decides to swallow her pride and move back home, much to everyone’s relief, especially Sally’s.

Glenda Young
http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.com

Sharon is supposed to be getting married to Jack but seems to be all too happy to drop everything whenever Phil calls – and he keeps calling, using baby Lexi as an excuse. Despite the fact that her Mum, Lola, desperately loves her and wants her back (and is doing everything right), the Gods of the Social seem to be plotting against her (and so is Phil). He gets Lola into court, pretending to be on her side and then lies about her, manipulating her into losing her temper, causing the court to declare that Phil should keep Lexi for the foreseeable future. But Phil only wants the baby, seemingly, as a second chance; a way of getting Ben to see him and getting Sharon to take him back…

Ian and Denise continue to circle around each other, and actually a bit more than that, but she is trying to keep it a secret. Unfortunately sister Kim catches on that Denise has had an overnight guest and plays Miss Marple, and it all gets announced in a big way; how else? In the Vic! And by the way, whoever it is on the show that chooses the background music has a great sense of humor. It is often fun to listen to the choices – there are some funny jokes there. A recent favorite was a background choice for a scene with the oft-married Ian Beale on the prowl: Addicted to Love. But love life aside, Ian is trying to get back on the fast track in business. Since Lucy now owns all his old businesses, he wants to open a restaurant of his own. Denise is for it but Lucy is against it…

Elsewhere… When Alfie asks Kat for a chat, she thinks he wants to get back together but he asks for a divorce instead – and he wants her to give him legal rights to Tommy (since he’s not Tommy’s bio dad, he needs the paper to make sure Kat can’t take him away). She’s none too pleased… Kat and Bianca are still working their market stall, but Bianca is having BIG troubles with Liam who has now fallen in with a gang of thugs, and to prove himself to them he joins in attacking and robbing Tamwar. When Bianca finally realizes what’s going on she doesn’t know what to do, so she locks him in his room, but she can’t keep him in there forever…

Over at #10, Tanya is having trouble coping with two stroppy teenagers, a toddler, an annoying mother (who has moved in), and a business. Max is now living at the B&B with “wife” Kirsty (whose hair extensions, false eyelashes and injected lips scream so loudly I can’t hear anything she’s saying). Down the hall from Max’s love nest is Jay’s room, where Abi has spent the night since she decided it was time to “go all the way” with Jay. Both Tanya and Max hit he roof when they find out but given their track records, they have no moral high ground to stand on. Tanya is so desperate for some fun, when Phil asks her out on a date she says yes. Here’s a riddle for all you geniuses out there: Why, why, WHY do women continually fall for Phil and Ian? The first one with the answer gets nominated for a Nobel Prize. Get cracking! And now that she sees Tanya going out with Phil, Sharon gets agitated and jealous…

But who cares about all this mishegas when Dot has been called before the Council, who are charging her with fraud and threatening to throw her out of her home because (they claim) she had illegal lodgers. Dot commit fraud? How could that be? And how can they do this anyway when Johnny Allen gave her the house – didn’t he? Am I crazy? If you can remember, please write to the Walford Council, London and ask them to please correct this miscarriage of justice (and continuity)!

Do you love Downton Abbey? If you do, check out my regular blog, Dispatch From the Downton Abbey Diaspora, on PBS Thirteen’s website. The two most recent blogs are about my recent trip to London, including my visit to the set of EastEnders and Highclere Castle (where Downton Abbey is filmed). Here is the link to Part 1: /www.thirteen.org/program-content/dispatch-from-the-downton-abbey-diaspora-13/ and Part 2: /www.thirteen.org/program-content/dispatch-from-the-downton-abbey-diaspora-14/ I hope you enjoy them, and please join in the discussion!

And if you’d like to keep up with all things EastEnders, just email me here at the Launderette and I’ll sign you up for our FREE, weekly EastEnders e-newsletter called The E20 Chronicles: E20Launderette@gmail.com

Signed, Your Faithful Reporter
Deborah Gilbert AKA E20Launderette

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ (AP) – The mayor of a storm-wrecked Jersey shore town said Monday that England’s Prince Harry will visit next week before heading to a news conference nearby.

Mantoloking Mayor George Nebel said Monday that Harry will take a short walk along Barnegat Lane, along the town’s bay front, during a brief visit on May 14. The prince will accompany Gov Chris Christie to Seaside Heights afterward.

During a council meeting held in Point Pleasant Beach because Mantoloking’s municipal building was wrecked by the storm and attended by The Associated Press, Nebel revealed part of the prince’s itinerary for his visit to the US East Coast.

“Security for this visit is being handled by the US State Department so most of you won’t get anywhere near” the prince, Nebel told residents.

The prince and Christie are scheduled to take “a brief walk” along the roadway, which is in the less-seriously damaged section of the borough.

“He wanted to see the hardest-hit town in New Jersey,” Nebel said. “He’ll arrive by car, walk along the road to see 10 houses, back in the car with the governor and gone.”

Mantoloking was the Jersey shore town hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy, which was spawned in late October when Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems. Every one of its 521 homes was damaged or destroyed, and the storm surge split the narrow borough in half, cutting between the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay a new channel that took a massive emergency construction project to fill in.

Harry is visiting various areas of the country from May 9 to 15 and wanted to include areas of the Jersey Shore that were devastated by Sandy.

Other planned stops include an exhibition in Washington, DC, on land mine clearance, a favorite cause of his late mother, Princess Diana; a British Ambassador’s reception and visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

In Colorado, the prince is due to attend a diplomatic reception in Denver and the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs.

In New York City, Harry’s visit will include an event promoting a community baseball program involving a new partnership with the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, which bills itself as the culmination of the charity lives of Harry and his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate.

Harry also will take in a polo cup match in Connecticut.

– By Wayne Parry

Tax Treaties – What They Don’t Say!

IT WOULD be nice if the US-UK tax treaty said something like – if income has been taxed in another country or is paid by a foreign government, for example, a UK social security pension, you do not have to include it on your US tax return, and it will not be taxable in the US. Unfortunately, and please pay attention here, that is not what it says!

In fact, it says just about the opposite! As I have mentioned before (but I think it bears repeating), although we as taxpayers think the treaties are there to prevent tax being paid in both countries, the tax authorities are more interested in making sure nothing is free of tax in both countries. And they write the treaties!

One of the questions I am asked most often concerns UK income that people feel should not be taxable in the US (or even included on the tax return) because UK tax has been deducted from it. Usually some reference is made to the treaty and how tax relief must be available. There are a number of problems here. Firstly, even if income is exempt from tax because of the treaty, you can’t just forget it altogether from your US tax return. A form 8833 must be included with various details of the income and how you are claiming tax relief. Very few payments will qualify for this treatment.

The kicker in the US-UK treaty (and other treaties made by the US, so we cannot feel particularly victimized here!) is known as the “savings clause”. This clause (found in Article 1(4)), says the US can ignore almost all the provisions of the treaty when determining the liability of US citizens and residents. You read that right! The US can tax most of us as if the treaty did not exist.

The exceptions to this clause are few and are listed in Article 1(5). There are very few of them! Some only apply to people who are not US citizens or green card holders.

You may then quite reasonably ask what benefit the treaty provides. The treaty confirms the right to claim foreign tax credit for taxes paid in the UK. Unlike the UK, which generally gives this credit pound for pound, the US requires a calculation which can limit your credit to the part of your tax bill equivalent to the proportion of your foreign income to your total income. And the US also requires you to make these calculations separately for different types of income.

I think the difficulty for most people of sorting out the requirements of these calculations are part of a wish by the US government to have taxpayers bring their funds to the United States. But as we know, this is not always possible!

There is no substitute for reading the treaty itself, but it is unlikely to make any bestseller list! But because of the savings clause, you cannot take a provision of the treaty out of context and be sure it will apply to you. Be warned! Additionally, many advisers back home are unaware of this clause and its impact. They are not expecting the effects of the treaty to be restricted in such a major fashion, but as we living here know, it’s the unknown unknowns that can cause such a problem.

Mary-Heather Styles works for Transatlantic Tax Inc, in Phoenix, Arizona. Like the former PM who died in April, she trained as a tax barrister in London. Unlike Mrs T, she is happy providing tax advice and has no political aspirations! Mary-Heather can be contacted at (602) 845-1420 or mhstyles@transatlantictax.com.

THE CAP for the H-1B non-immigrant working visa for the fiscal year (October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014) has now been reached. The H-1B is one of the most common working visas. As such, with the cap being reached, this leaves many foreign workers in limbo as they are unable to obtain the necessary work visa to legally work and remain in the United States. Fortunately, there are other immigrant and nonimmigrant visas available for those who find themselves outside of the H-1B visa cap. The following is a list of the most popular non-immigrant options that are available to foreign workers and/or their sponsoring companies:

E-2: Treaty Trader/Treaty Investor

The E-2 classification is available to British Nationals through a treaty entered by the United States and the United Kingdom. The E-2 classification can be useful to companies who want to sponsor foreign workers or for individuals who want to start their own companies.

Foreign Workers

In order to qualify for the E-2 as a foreign worker, the foreign worker must:

• Have the same nationality as the principal employer (in essence, if the foreign worker is a British national, then the sponsoring company must also be owned by a British national or company); and

• Be engaging in duties of executive or supervisory in nature (the employee’s duties enables him/her to exercise ultimate control and responsibility for the organization’s overall operations) or have specialized skills that makes the employee essential to the efficient operation of the business.

Foreign Investors

In order to qualify for the E-2 treaty investor, the investor must:

• Be in the process of investing or has invested a substantial amount of money in a US company (we typically recommend a $100,000 investment);

• Develop and direct the investment enterprise (the investor should own at least 50 percent of the company or must have operational control of the company); and

• The invested funds must be at risk to total loss.

O-1 Classification: Extraordinary Ability

The O-1 classification is available to individuals with an extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, arts, or athletics.

In order to qualify for the O classification, the foreign worker must have a company sponsor him/ her and the foreign worker must demonstrate that he/she has sustained national or international acclaim and that he/she will continue to work in his/her area of expertise.

Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business or athletics means that the foreign worker is “one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top of the field”.

Extraordinary ability in the field of arts means achieving “a high level of achievement in the field of the arts evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of arts.”

L-1: Intracompany Transferee

There are two L-1 classifications– L-1A and L-1B. The L-1A classification allows a US company to transfer an executive or manager from one of its foreign affiliates to an office in the United States. This classification also allows a foreign company, who does not yet have a branch/presence in the United States, to send an executive or manager to the United States for the purpose of establishing a US Office. The L-1B allows a US company to transfer a person with specialized knowledge from one of its foreign affiliates to an office in the United States. This classification also allows a foreign company, who does not yet have a branch/presence in the United States, to send a person with specialized knowledge to the United States for the purpose of establishing a US Office.

In order to qualify for L-1 classification, the employer must:

The US company must have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate); and

The US and foreign company must be “doing business” while the foreign worker is on an L-1 classification. Doing business means the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and services by the US and foreign company. Merely having an office is not sufficient.

In addition to the employer requirements, the employee must also meet certain requirements.

For an L-1A classification, the employee must:

• Have worked for the foreign company one of the last three years immediately preceding his/her admission to the United States; and

• Seeks to enter the United States in an executive or act in a managerial capacity. Executive capacity means the employee has the authority to make decisions without too much oversight. Managerial capacity means the employee has the authority to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the company, or a department in the company.

For an L-1B classification, the employee must:

• Have worked for the foreign company one of the last three years immediately preceding his/her admission to the United States; and

• Seeks to enter the United States in a specialized knowledge capacity. Specialized knowledge means the employee possess special knowledge of the petitioning organization’s services, products, techniques, equipment, management, and so forth.

In addition to the above non-immigrant visas, there are also immigrant visas (green card) that are available to foreign workers. Executives, investors, and foreigners with extra-ordinary abilities can get their immigrant visas sometimes as quickly as the non-immigrant visas.

The above information is given for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. Please consult with an attorney to discuss the particulars of your own case. Stephen Ure can be contacted at (619) 235-5400, or email: ure@prodigy.net

This article was first published in May 2013

It started on May 11 last year with a blaze in a house at 18 Victory Road, Derby, in which six children perished. Within a couple of days the police established that it was an arson attack since the fire had been started by petrol in the letterbox.

Curiously, the identity of the householder was already known: Mick Philpott, a father of 17, who had featured on a TV programme in 2007. The Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe had spent a week with him observing life in his strange family. He came across as a braggart, womaniser and bully.

In the days that followed the fire, the hunt for the villain was pursued by the police, using Philpott and his wife, Mairead, to appeal for witnesses. Their behaviour looked somewhat forced, distraught yet tearless, out of their minds with grief yet controlled enough to exchange glances in their hysterical grief. It thus came as no surprise when the police charged them with murder.

TORTUOUS

It is a pretty tortuous story. Philpott, 58, has a long history of violence, particularly towards women, well, girls really, early teenagers from difficult backgrounds. His first documented run-in with the law came in 1978 when his lover, a girl of 16 wore a skirt he thought was too short. He shot her in the groin. Then when she was too friendly with a baby she was minding he broke her kneecap with a sledgehammer. The girl retaliated by threatening to leave him and he stabbed her 13 times. For this attempted murder he received a seven-year jail term.

He then had five children by two more teenagers, one of whom he married and subsequently divorced.

The latest crime concerned his wife, Mairead, and his live-in mistress, Lisa Willis. Mick was operating a remarkable ménage à trois. Their sleeping arrangements involved a caravan parked in the front garden in which the women took turns to share the night with him.

Eventually, Lisa decided that enough was enough, took her five children and fled. Philpott wanted her back and on the day of the fire was due to contest a custody case in court. His half-baked idea was to set the house on fire, bravely rescue the six children he had had with Mairead, then accuse Lisa Willis of having set the fire.

PLOT

This incredible plot would have several beneficial effects: Willis would be charged with arson, his children by her would be returned to the family house and he would be given a new council house that would be big enough for eleven children and two adults.

The plan went cruelly wrong since the children were trapped in their upstairs bedroom as the fire swept through the building. Mick’s brave venture in rescuing the children didn’t get off the ground such was the intensity of the fire. In fact, he managed to get one slight burn to the inside of his right arm. Two neighbours and the firemen risked their lives, getting all the children out though only one was alive and he died a couple of days later.

The police finally charged Philpott, his wife and a neighbour friend, Paul Mosley, with the manslaughter of the six children. Since evidence was hard to obtain, the police put up the three in a hotel which was bugged. Their conversations gradually revealed the conspiracy, as well as Mairead Philpott performing a sex act on Mosley while Philpott looked on. He told her he was very proud of what she had done.

From the start it was evident that the three had not planned murder so they were only ever facing manslaughter charges. Philpott was found guilty and sentenced to life with a recommendation that he serve 15 years. In effect, it means he will probably never enjoy a minute of freedom again. The other two were sentenced to 17 years apiece.

INDOLENCE

Philpott’s life of indolence was supported by the earnings of the two women who worked as cleaners plus benefit payments. Philpott used to drive the women to work and take their pay which supplemented an estimated £26,000 annual state benefit.

You can readily imagine that media coverage assumed nasty political overtones. The coalition government is in the middle of changing the benefit system to save public money. Amongst a number of objectives one is to ensure that people out of work do not have more money than those in work. Philpott’s lifestyle became a political issue in itself. Right-wing commentators in the press saw it as proof that the generosity of the welfare state produced feckless families living off the hard work of the rest of society.

The theme was taken up by the Tory side of the coalition, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and even by David Cameron himself. The conclusion seemed pretty obvious: state handouts sapped the nation’s strength, making it morally and financially correct to cut these payments.

An opposing view was offered by the liberal democrat side of the coalition as well as the left-leaning press, that Mick Philpott represented himself only – a vicious criminal who preyed on the women in his life and got money wherever he could.

The case was handled by a female judge, Mrs Justice Thirlwall, who summed up Philpott’s crimes before handing down the life sentence. Here was a judge who spoke for women. She described the man’s 40-year history of violence against vulnerable young women.

He had broken one girl’s arm and attacked her with a sledge-hammer for which he served time. He used pregnancy as a weapon to keep his women in line. Altogether he had 17 children, proof of his virility, yes, but also as a means of constraint – pregnant women were not in a fit state to rebel against his brutality. Worse than that he repeatedly used the children as another weapon to ensure their mothers lived in permanent subjugation, using the courts to obtain custody. It was his latest custody battle that caused the final tragedy.

The sad thing about Britain’s judicial system is that there are so few female judges. Only 15.5 percent of high court judges are women with only Azerbaijan, Scotland and Armenia below England and Wales in that league table. Philpott and his ilk have large numbers of children not for the state benefits but to keep their women in line and it took a female judge to ram that point home.

You can see why this case caused such controversy that it took the death of Baroness Thatcher to force it from the front pages.

John polley

john.polley1@ntlworld.com