Richard Ravitch was sworn in as New York's liutenant governor in 2009, to fill a vacancy and help solve the city's dire fiscal crisis. Ravitch, a wealthy businessman, was gracious enough to forgo the $151,500 annual salary.
And in an example that no good deed goes unpunished, he now owes money for working for no money:
While working on the memoir earlier this year, he received a letter from the state comptroller. It was not a thank you note for serving, much less without pay. It was a bill.
“The value of your personal use of a state provided vehicle and chauffeur services and taxable meals when traveling are fringe benefits reported as income on your Form W-2,” the letter began.
Those $9,455 in fringes were subject to $723.31 in Social Security and Medicare taxes, which the state paid on his behalf and was now seeking to collect ...
What did Ravitch do?
“I paid it,” Mr. Ravitch said Monday, adding philosophically: “There was a certain asymmetrical irony about it, but I hope it helps the budget gap.”
Sam Roberts of The New York Times' City Room blog explains: Link
Now, when he DOESN'T get the salary (thus reducing the burden on the budget, as shown above), you'd expect the state to at least cancel the taxes for fringe benefits, given that it would've still ended up in the black.
Or to put it another way, when your friend helps you move do you charge them for the beer?
If he had used his own car and chauffeur, and paid for his own meals, then it would be different.
$723 for some meals, travel, and the use of a car for a year? I'd pay that.
Come on, let's do some business together!