SPORTS NATION FACES Tiger’s Masters Florida keeps Lifetime returns win voted year’s it weird in to R. Kelly with top sports story 2019 a new series Back page Page 10 Page 12 Tax bills for moving benefits coming due for civilian employees » Page 3 stripes.com Volume 78, No. 184 ©SS 2020 JANUARY 1-2, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Military, federal civilians set for largest pay boost in years BY SLOBODAN LEKIC Stars and Stripes January will usher in the big- gest pay raise since 2010 for U.S. service members, and also bring a long-awaited salary increase for federal civilian employees. Service members and Defense Department civilians are each slated to receive an average 3.1% bump in annual pay as part of the $737 billion military budget for 2020 — $22 billion more than last year’s defense measure. Congress passed the record- setting defense bill in December with strong bipartisan support. It includes the creation of a Space Force, one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities for the Pentagon, and provisions aimed at improving military housing conditions. The Department of Veterans Affairs will get a 9% boost in funding, its largest bud- getary increase ever. The 2020 raise is the largest for service members since a 3.4% an- nual pay hike in 2010. Since then, annual increases have ranged be- PHOTOS BY KHALID MOHAMMED/AP tween 1% and 2.6%. For federal civilian employees, Protesters burn property in front of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday . the 3.1% average increase will constitute the largest raise since 2008, when they received a 3.5% average pay adjustment, statis- Iraqi protesters storm US Embassy tics published by the Federal News Network stated. For much of the 2010s, federal employees received either no raise or a 1% annual hike. Militiamen breach compound shouting The White House had original- ly planned to freeze federal pay in 2020 but reversed course in Au- ‘Death to America’ in wake of airstrikes gust and allowed a 2.6% across- the-board increase. On Friday, BY QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA smoke rose over the grounds. Trump signed an executive order Associated Press An Associated Press reporter at putting into effect a measure that the scene saw flames rising from also includes locality pay averag- BAGHDAD — Dozens of Iraqi inside the compound and at least ing an extra 0.5%. Shiite militiamen and their sup- three U.S. troops on the roof of the The civilian increases state- porters shouting “Death to Amer- main embassy building. There was side should range from 2.85% to ica” broke into the U.S. Embassy a fire at the reception area near the 3.52% with locality pay factored compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, compound’s parking lot but it was in, a Federal News Network anal- smashing a main door and setting unclear what had started it. A man ysis found. The highest average fire to a reception area, angered on a loudspeaker urged the mob not increases will come in the Wash- over deadly U.S. airstrikes target- to enter the compound, saying, “The ington metro area and around ing the Iran-backed militia. U.S. message was delivered.” other large cities. guards fired tear gas and palls of SEE EMBASSY ON PAGE 6 Iraqi protesters damage property inside the U.S. Embassy. SEE PAY ON PAGE 5 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Wednesday, January 1-Thursday, January 2, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER Former Nissan boss Ghosn flees to Lebanon over ‘injustice’ EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)........................... 0.9667 Euro costs (Jan. 2) ............................$1.1492 Thailand (Baht) .................................... 29.77 € Associated Press Dollar buys (Jan. 2) ........................... 0.8702 Turkey (New Lira) .............................. 5.9501 his representatives that did not who said they did not know how British pound (Jan. 2)........................... $1.35 (Military exchange rates are those describe how he left Japan, where Ghosn had left. Japanese yen (Jan. 2) ........................ 107.00 available to customers at military banking TOKYO — Nissan’s former South Korean won (Jan. 2) ............1,128.00 facilities in the country of issuance chairman, Carlos Ghosn, said he had been under surveillance. Ghosn, who is of Lebanese ori- Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the “I am now in Lebanon and will gin and holds French, Lebanese Bahrain (Dinar) ................................... 0.3770 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For Tuesday from Lebanon that he British pound .................................... $1.3215 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., was not fleeing justice but instead no longer be held hostage by a and Brazilian passports, was ar- Canada (Dollar) .................................. 1.3003 purchasing British pounds in Germany), rigged Japanese justice system rested in November 2018 and was China (Yuan) ....................................... 6.9636 check with your local military banking left Japan to avoid “injustice and Denmark (Krone) ............................... 6.6591 facility. Commercial rates are interbank political persecution” over fi- where guilt is presumed, dis- expected to face trial in April Egypt (Pound) ................................... 16.0662 rates provided for reference when buying crimination is rampant, and basic 2020. Euro .......................................... $1.1219/.8913 currency. All figures are foreign currencies nancial misconduct allegations Hong Kong (Dollar) ............................ 7.7869 to one dollar, except for the British pound, human rights are denied, in fla- Ghosn has been charged with Hungary (Forint) ................................ 294.68 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, during his tenure leading the and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) grant disregard of Japan’s legal under-reporting his future com- Israel (Shekel) .................................... 3.4570 automaker. Japan (Yen) .......................................... 108.62 Ghosn had been released on obligations under international pensation and breach of trust. Kuwait (Dinar) .................................... 0.3032 INTEREST RATES law and treaties it is bound to up- Japan does not have an extra- Norway (Krone) .................................. 8.7756 bail by a Tokyo court while await- Philippines (Peso)................................ 50.72 Prime rate ................................................4.75 ing trial but was not allowed to hold,” the statement said. dition treaty with Lebanon. It is Poland (Zloty) ......................................... 3.79 Discount rate ..........................................2.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) .......................... 3.7515 Federal funds market rate ...................1.55 travel overseas. He disclosed his Japanese media quoted pros- unclear what steps authorities Singapore (Dollar) ............................. 1.3448 3-month bill .............................................1.52 location in a statement through ecutors speaking anonymously might take. South Korea (Won) ......................... 1,154.33 30-year bond ...........................................2.34 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 32/27 Kabul 32/27 Seoul 34/27 Baghdad 62/45 Kandahar 60/35 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 35/29 49/40 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 43/36 36/33 43/32 Iwakuni 49/43 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 69/66 Brussels 36/33 Guam 64/53 37/32 Ramstein 50/45 81/78 Lajes, 38/33 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 70/52 74/57 62/59 35/28 38/35 Aviano/ Vicenza 46/32 Naples 52/39 Okinawa Morón 66/63 57/42 Sigonella Rota 53/36 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 83/75 57/44 55/52 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 11 Classified .................. 13 Comics ..................14-15 Crossword .............14-15 Faces ........................ 12 Opinion ..................... 16 Sports ...................17-24 Wednesday, January 1-Thursday, January 2, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY PCS tax bills for civilian employees are coming due BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS efits for DOD civilian employees. taxed when the employee submit- Stars and Stripes In September 2018, it began ted a claim for reimbursement. withholding taxes on moving-re- For those who moved in 2018, Just before the holidays, Mo lated reimbursements to employ- DFAS paid the IRS the Social Bak, an engineer for the federal ees, but a system to withhold taxes Security and Medicare taxes on government, received a letter de- on payments to vendors — such money it paid third-party ven- manding $1,600 to reimburse the as shipping or storage companies dors — such as commercial mov- Defense Department for taxes it — was not implemented until the ing companies. For 2019 moves, paid to move her for her job. following year. DFAS also paid the 22% income She’d relocated with her two That meant employees who tax on those payments. children in 2019 from Marine moved before September 2019 The DFAS debt letters are Corps Air Station Iwakuni to Yo- were still on the hook for Medi- to reimburse the agency those kota Air Base, both in Japan. The care, Social Security and fed- expenditures. bill covered taxes on the costs to eral income taxes on the money Employees who moved in 2018 ship her property about 525 miles the government paid directly to must pay the IRS directly the from one base to the other. packing, moving and shipping 22% income tax on the money “(I) honestly didn’t think