OK, the story says that they would return EITHER their city pay, OR their military pay, which ever was less.
How could ANY of them have been paid over $200,000 in MILITARY PAY?
I presume also that military pay is not taxed while they are in a war zone.
I do understand the complication of trying to figure out tax consequences, I presume that if you return pay you can file an amended tax return.
I think my employer has this same policy, they keep paying you but only the difference between your normal pay and the service pay. But they I think do it pretty much real-time so there isn't much adjustment needed.
I know. Hard to believe.
One of the only ways is that they cherry picked one or two individuals. Those being a General or such that was put on active duty for a couple of years.
I'm guessing that some medical personnel on the NYC payroll, if they had taxfree war zone pay, could bring in over $200,000 if they put in a long tour, which from what I've read, all medical personnel do. Probably also had senior NCO's and NG CO's who were also senior NYPD/MTA brass who were called up, especially those in MP units (from what I know of first hand from LEO's in the NJ NG), were assigned long tours of duty.
This is a good deal for everyone who signed up, as long as their family members with the checkbooks and credit cards in NY had some financial sense. Sounds like some didn't.