Originally Posted by
DogWhisperer
Just thinking out loud...letting my mind explore the what if's and deep thoughts...
Curious....retro is much like a tax return. The funds are out on loan until collected at the end of the tax season. Wouldn't a management that is worth anything have already budgeted in the cost of retro when costing out a contract agreement? If so, if a "NO" prevails, wouldn't said funds still be available in the company coffers for the next time? Also, if the retro comes this year with a "YES", isn't it taxed as regular W-2 income vs. a bonus tax rate that would apply to it being paid out next year? Does ALPA get a different amount of said payments if its paid as W-2 vs. a "Bonus"....
A couple things: Sending this back puts retro back into jeopardy. That is without question due to the precedent that UPS, WN, and FDX have set. My spider sense says that sending this back is going to be about a 2 year churn of awfulness with little to show for it. This is coming from a guy who strongly promoted sending 2012 and 2015 back.
Secondly, bonuses are not taxed at a different rate. They are withheld at a different rate. At the end of the day, all the money you've earned on your W2 is taxed in the various brackets all the way up to the final one you've ended up in. If you end up after your deductions 1 dollar into the 30% bracket, only that last dollar is taxed in the 30% bracket. AMT of course is a potential pain for us higher earners.