A new directive bans tax offices from seizing the military pay of U.S. personnel stationed in Germany, ending a dispute that has wreaked financial havoc on scores of Americans.

A German state court said efforts by local finance offices to tax U.S. military pay violate the NATO troop treaty, marking a development in a dispute that has caused financial devastation for scores of Americans.

The case did not delve into the main dispute over whether SOFA offers blanket tax protection for U.S. personnel on orders in Germany.

The order to collect info on those affected comes nearly two years after the U.S. accused Germany of violating the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, an international treaty intended to put military pay and benefits off-limits to local tax collectors.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass, after getting bombarded with pleas for help from military community members fighting the German government’s attempts to tax their pay, said Wednesday she will advocate for the affected airmen and their families.

The case spotlights the financial danger faced by some U.S. military personnel in Germany at the hands of local tax offices, which have argued the SOFA treaty can be disregarded under certain circumstances.

A report given to German tax collectors that included commissary expenditures, on-base gasoline purchases and more ended up being used against a US military-affiliated family in tax court.

Tax collectors in the city of Ansbach dropped a demand that a military family turn over American income records for inspection, marking a reversal in a case that sparked concerns a contentious German tax collection scheme was expanding.

A US military family in Bavaria is being targeted by German tax investigators, possibly signaling an expansion of a controversial tax collection operation to a state where tens of thousands of Americans are based

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he is unaware of a treaty dispute that has exposed scores of U.S. military personnel to hefty tax penalties at the hands of German finance authorities, but that he intends to look into the matter.