New York City's Reservists Are Asked to Return Iraq Pay

New York City's Reservists Are Asked to Return Iraq Pay
When they were called up for military service in the wake of 9/11, hundreds of uniformed city workers in the Reserves faced the suspension of their city health and pension benefits. The city offered them an option: it would keep paying their salaries and continue their benefits, but when they returned they would have to repay the city their city salary or their military pay, whichever was less.

Now the bills from the city are coming due, for far more than many veterans imagined they would have to pay — as much as $200,000 — and oThe city is demanding that the veterans repay their gross salaries, even though they never saw about a third of the money, which went for taxes and other deductions. The commissioner of administrative services, Martha K. Hirst, said veterans should be able to get back the difference between gross and take-home pay by amending their tax returns. But several tax accountants said the city had created an accounting quagmire.ften for more money than they ever received.