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Anecdotally, I know several people who would end up making less if they moved, because their company would “adjust” their salary if they move to a different tax

Anecdotally, I know several people who would end up making less if they moved, because their company would “adjust” their salary if they move to a different tax regime. And moving when not telling their employer would probably result in a termination of employment. Essentially this would offset a 15k bonus, since the company would probably take that into account when “adjusting”. [edited a word or three]

rco8786 6y ago
This is a rather cynical take, assuming that companies would somehow "steal" this incentive from people. Geo-based compensation is real, of course, but so are the massive cost of living differences between say, San Francisco and Ann Arbor.
- SamWhited 6y ago
  It's not cynical, it's absolutely true. When I lived in Austin companies would adjust peoples pay down when they moved there because there was no state income tax in Texas so they'd claim they were being paid the same and the employees were being "greedy" by wanting the same salary.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    The real reason is always the supply curve and demand curve of labor in the new location mean the employee will accept the lower pay.
  - rco8786 6y ago
    I explicitly stated that geo-based compensation plans are normal. What I'm calling out is a baseless claim that companies will also adjust so that they can "steal" the one time $15k incentive. After all...if they take the incentive away, the incentive no longer exists and is useless.
ineedasername 6y ago
Wow, I would never consider there to be any requirement to tell my employer that I moved somewhere else. It would have to be really prominent in new employee orientation etc. for me to even remember the requirement if I'd been there a few years. Although even with a salary decrease commensurate with a decreased cost of living, there could still be better quality of life, depending on the specific locations. Moving from the Bay Area to a suburban area like in the article, for the right type of person, could be a massive improvement.
- Schiendelman 6y ago
  This is less “your employer” and more “the IRS” causing this to be important, and your offer letter / employment contract almost definitely has a location in it. If you work from a state where your employer doesn’t have a tax nexus, for instance, working there can cause one. Until we were all working remotely, this usually didn’t come up - if someone disappears from the office, HR will follow up to make sure you aren’t causing a tax problem. Now it’s a mess.
- cynicalkane 6y ago
  You have to tell your employer where you live for tax purposes. You can lie, but that’s called tax fraud.
  - dawnerd 6y ago
    Some places (most?) have additional payroll taxes even if the business isn't based in the state. Found this out the hard way after moving to Oregon.
  - unishark 6y ago
    I don't see why there would be tax fraud if you file state tax returns accurately. Presumably you'd file two returns, one to the state you work in asking for your refund as you've been living outside the state all year, and one to the state you live in paying your income tax. As for the IRS, they get their money no matter where you live, including nowhere...
  - 6y ago

rco8786 6y ago

This is a rather cynical take, assuming that companies would somehow "steal" this incentive from people. Geo-based compensation is real, of course, but so are the massive cost of living differences between say, San Francisco and Ann Arbor.

SamWhited 6y ago
It's not cynical, it's absolutely true. When I lived in Austin companies would adjust peoples pay down when they moved there because there was no state income tax in Texas so they'd claim they were being paid the same and the employees were being "greedy" by wanting the same salary.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  The real reason is always the supply curve and demand curve of labor in the new location mean the employee will accept the lower pay.
- rco8786 6y ago
  I explicitly stated that geo-based compensation plans are normal. What I'm calling out is a baseless claim that companies will also adjust so that they can "steal" the one time $15k incentive. After all...if they take the incentive away, the incentive no longer exists and is useless.

ineedasername 6y ago

Wow, I would never consider there to be any requirement to tell my employer that I moved somewhere else. It would have to be really prominent in new employee orientation etc. for me to even remember the requirement if I'd been there a few years. Although even with a salary decrease commensurate with a decreased cost of living, there could still be better quality of life, depending on the specific locations. Moving from the Bay Area to a suburban area like in the article, for the right type of person, could be a massive improvement.

Schiendelman 6y ago
This is less “your employer” and more “the IRS” causing this to be important, and your offer letter / employment contract almost definitely has a location in it. If you work from a state where your employer doesn’t have a tax nexus, for instance, working there can cause one. Until we were all working remotely, this usually didn’t come up - if someone disappears from the office, HR will follow up to make sure you aren’t causing a tax problem. Now it’s a mess.
cynicalkane 6y ago
You have to tell your employer where you live for tax purposes. You can lie, but that’s called tax fraud.
- dawnerd 6y ago
  Some places (most?) have additional payroll taxes even if the business isn't based in the state. Found this out the hard way after moving to Oregon.
- unishark 6y ago
  I don't see why there would be tax fraud if you file state tax returns accurately. Presumably you'd file two returns, one to the state you work in asking for your refund as you've been living outside the state all year, and one to the state you live in paying your income tax. As for the IRS, they get their money no matter where you live, including nowhere...
- 6y ago