President Clinton on Friday issued an executive order designating Yugoslavia and surrounding areas as a combat zone, allowing military personnel participating in Operation Allied Force to receive imminent danger pay and special tax benefits.
Military personnel serving in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and the northern Ionian Sea, or in the air above these areas, are now eligible for danger pay of $150 extra per month.
Personnel in those areas also receive the following tax benefits:
- An extension for filing and paying taxes.
- Military pay for months served in the combat zone will be exempt from income tax (subject to a dollar limit for commissioned officers), and will not be subject to income tax withholding.
- Telephone calls originating in the combat zone will be exempt from the telephone excise tax.
The extension of tax deadlines also applies to U.S. military personnel deployed overseas in support of operations in the combat zone, and others, including Red Cross personnel.
Personnel serving in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia already receive these benefits under 1996 legislation.
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