| PEF
worked with state to head off another holiday disaster Taxes on education benefits no longer one-shot shock |
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| By
MARY CAROLINE POWERS At the height of last year's holiday season, more than 1,000 PEF members were jolted by the discovery that their final paycheck of the year was short by as much as $600. This year, that's not going to happen. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) moved the date of the initial withholding on taxable education benefits back to November. For those receiving benefits of $300 or less, the taxes came out of the first November paycheck. Withholding for benefits exceeding $300, was spread over three paychecks - two in November and the first paycheck issued in December. (The taxable amount of assistance received is denoted on pay stubs as "ED Asst-Tx.") The day after last year's debacle, PEF launched a strong protest and after several meetings with the OSC was able to get advances on salaries for state employees who were hit by the unexpected deduction. During January and February, PEF and the Civil Service Employees Association entered into discussions with OSC and the Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) about how future withholdings would be handled. GOER, which has administered the Public Service Training Program Voucher and Voucher Alternative Programs since March, abruptly discontinued the discussions. "While we are pleased that OSC is attempting to spread out the 'pain' of the withholding, we would have preferred that the withholding for the benefit provided in January 1999 would have taken place long before November 1999. The timing is still very close to the holidays," said Cliff Merchant, PEF's director of education and training. Merchant added that the issue isn't likely to be settled until PEF's PS&T contract with the state is settled. What is, or is not, considered a taxable benefit is determined by OSC and may be somewhat confusing. Generally, job-related educational-assistance benefits are not taxable and non-job-related benefits are. For a more detailed explanation, visit OSC online at www.osc.state.ny.us/paysr/bulet123.htm. If you believe you have been incorrectly taxed on educational benefits, contact your payroll officer. If you think the benefit you received should not have been taxed at all, contact Linda Betke at GOER. Discrepancies may occur because of problems with data transferred from OSC to GOER. |
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