European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 18, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pace 6 stars and june of contractor caught in a taxing situation differing interpretations of status of forces agreement by Germany and Cost him nearly by Scott Schonauer stars and stripes Germany John Adair remembers the Day he wrote what he Calls the biggest Check in my it was july just Days before packing up and leaving Germany after living in the coun try for 24 years first As an air Force officer and later As a civil Ian he transferred a staggering euros from his personal banking account at Ramstein air base to the Kaiserslautern tax a systems Engineer who worked for air forces in Europe Headquarters at the had battled German tax authorities in court Over the payment of four years of income taxes and he compares watching that Money disappear from his account to someone coming and Tak ing his it was said who now works in for a different what they did was so so so since that Adair and his lawyer have been fighting to get the Money they argue that Adair should have never had to pay the taxes because an agree ment Between the and Ger Many exempts american military defense department workers and most civilian con tractors from paying German in come although few people Are aware of the Legal there Are Wor Ries among american military officials the litigation could set a damaging precedent that would discourage american civilian con tractors from working overseas and complicate the military relationship with its German hundreds of americans work for defense contractors in Germany in support of both the army and air and some of them Are no different than what they did was so so so John Adair air Force contractor forced to pay German taxes the air Force is so concerned about the Case that it has taken the unusual step of paying Adair Legal which have reached thousands of the embassy in Berlin and the according to have also provided advice and assistance at one time or another during the slow Legal the controversy stems from Dif Ferent interpretations of an agree ment negotiated Between the and Germany in the 1990s Over the status of a pact made in 1998 deter mined that the status of forces agreement would cover Only de sense contractors considered to photo Courtesy of John Adair John who now works in is fighting the German government for the return of nearly in income be technical those meeting the criteria would receive the same benefits As any de sense department civilian employees and not have to pay Ger Man income the one stipulation is that a con tractor could lose that special Sta Tus if he or she is considered to be a permanent resident of the coun or what both sides have termed an ordinarily such factors As Chil Drens attendance at German property ownership and spouses employment on the local Economy Are in october the Kaiserslautern tax office sent Adair a letter stating he needed to pay income taxes because he didst meet the definition of a technical with the support of the base Legal argued that didst make he was an Engineer and married to american who didst work on the his daughter didst attend of base and he didst own any property in every year i was in Germany i was serving my country on be half of Adair i was there during the cold Randy an International lawyer for air Force in said Adair fits the Crite Ria of a technical but Germany sees it he believes the Kaiserslautern tax of which refused to comment for this has targeted Adair because he has lived in Germany for More than two his Case is based on length of time he How Long is enough we dont that is Why the air Force and the army Are so interested in the there Are 400 civilian con tractors working in support of the military in Germany who Are considered technical Harshman estimates that 10 or More of those could be affected by the ruling because they have lived in Germany for quite some Adair problems started shortly after he received the notice in the mail from the tax later that the office requested Adair employer to Start taking taxes out of his against Adair the company began withholding 43 percent of his earnings and other including his Cost living allow Ance and the estimated value of his defense department id that led Adair to hire a Ger Man he would have fled Germany and not paid the but he said he feared he would be branded a he was assured by both the state depart ment and the air Force that he met the criteria for the tax exemption and the courts would Rule in his that didst it All spiralled badly for me after Adair in March a finance court in Neustadt am Der Wei Strasse ruled in favor of the tax about two months Adair said six representatives from the tax office went to his Home to try to confiscate his personal proper Adair and his wife started pack ing for a move to the United states shortly after the but they didst leave before settling the debt the court said he when they they ended up paying a total of nearly in income taxes to the Kaiserslautern the Large sum Crip pled the family to make ends the Adair dipped into their for All John Adair can do is he appealed the finance court and a court in Munich has sent the decision Back to the finance court in Neustadt to be but As of no decision had been the concern by Adair is the Case is so politically sensitive and could have such far reaching ramifications for German and Ameri can relations that there is no urgency on either Side to reach a final this has been a real emotional roller coaster for he said be fore roller might be the wrong term because there Haven been any Only email Scott Schonauer at  Wii vets life changing tour chronicled in new Book Glenn Angeles times former Crew members off the destroyer Dale gather for a reunion in san their exploits have been chronicled in the Book tales from a tin can the u5s Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo by Tony Perry los Angeles times san Diego they were incan sailors once and now Treyve come some probably for the last to remember shared dangers and shared two dozen Navy veterans of world War ii who served aboard the destroyer Dale were in san Diego this weekend to remember a ship and a War that changed their it began on at Pearl har Bor when the Dale was one of the few ships to get under Way and escape the japanese the Dale was one of the first ships to take the fight to the new Downing at least one japanese maybe More that brutal in three plus years of the Dale took part in Battles from the aleutians to winning 12 Battle stars before sailing in Triumph into san Diego har Bor on a heroes Welcome from haunt been Back to san Diego since that he remembered racing off the ship to find a wedding ring for his Girlfriend Back there were other Battles fought against the japanese and one memorable one against the a typhoon that Sank several ships in the a the Dale listed at water was coining Down the smoke said luckily we were All working so hard we didst have tune to get for Jack 88 of Long the hours after the Dale got out of Pearl har Bor on 7 remain a japanese submarine was i looked and two torpedoes were coming directly at Pettit my hair stood straight up but they passed directly Lelow the highlight of the reunion was a trip to the the aircraft Carrier turned museum moored at the a Barca in the hangar Michael Keith a writer and radio talk show Host from Santa read from his recent Book tales from a tin can the uss Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo for his Olson gathered 424 Sto Ries from 44 Dale sailors and presented them in chronological