Vermont's Remote Worker Grant Program

[llimllib]

previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17196507

[danielfoster]

>New remote worker must be an individual who is a full-time >employee as defined by the employer, who receives a W-2 from >their employer and is employed by a business with its >domicile or primary place of business outside of Vermont.

Freelancers and entrepreneurs are out of luck here. Unless Vermont hopes to pay for the program through employee payroll taxes, this restriction seems hopelessly arbitrary.

Also note that funding is "First come, First served. You must first move to Vermont and (correctly) fill out several pieces of paperwork to find out if you applied in time.

This seems like an awful way for one of the highest-tax states in the country to welcome remote workers.

[peller]

Yea. I finally moved out of Vermont after 10 years of it hindering my career opportunities. Saw this and thought about moving back for a second, except now I'm a small business instead of an employee, so no dice :(

[maxxxxx]

This makes no sense to me either. A grant for small businesses AND remote workers would seem much more useful.

[DFHippie]

>This seems like an awful way for one of the highest-tax states in the country to welcome remote workers.

Yes, if your top metric for quality of life is income tax rate, Vermont is not the state for you.

[steindavidb]

(for a single filer) at $100k income, this lowers the effective state income tax to 0.8%

at $200k income, this lowers the effective state income tax rate to 4.4%

New Hampshire is literally next door and has no income tax.

[rbritton]

There's also no guarantee on the duration of this program. From their FAQ, it appears that it's renewed annually, so it would be very easy to dig in roots only to find out the program has been ended shortly after.

At the risk of going slightly political, if money is the reason for relocating there, I'm not sure I'd put much faith in it lasting given the elected officials for that state.

[woah]

Some people prefer Vermont's landscape, culture and politics and might be willing to give up 0.8% of income tax savings.

[Spooky23]

Sort of. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

New Hampshire has high property taxes and it collects the equivalent of income tax from employers.

[mindslight]

> New Hampshire is literally next door and has no income tax.

Really?! Has New Hampshire finally gotten their act together and extricated themselves from the boot of the federal government? Or do you really mean that NH has a slightly lower income tax because nothing gets added to the federal one?

[Retric]

New Hampshire has other taxes. If you want to pay less in taxes find a state that spends less money.

[bogomipz]

This is a really good point. If you are after clean air, natural beauty, outdoor activity and the New England vibe you could just as easily live in New Hampshire and pay zero state income tax.

Also there are many parts of New Hampshire where commuting in to Boston is an option if your remote gig went away. Many people live in low tax New Hampshire and commute in to Boston or or other parts of Massachusetts.

[dsfyu404ed]

>New Hampshire is literally next door and has no income tax

I wouldn't bank on it staying that way for long. Massholes from are moving in in droves and are voting for the kinds of politicians who would be very amenable to am income tax. Of course if they get an income tax all their other taxes will stay high too.

[keeganjw]

As a Vermonter, I really don't get all the hype around this. The program has gotten way more attention than it probably deserves. It's a limited program in a small state. The logic of it is bizarre. We're trying to bring in more tax dollars by giving people tax breaks to move here? There might be a small, long-term pay off but it would most likely be minimal. Low taxes don't get people to move here, it's mostly the nature but good, equitable schools and a relatively liberal culture don't hurt.

[cgb223]

I think Vermont vastly overestimates how many remote jobs/workers currently exist

I’ve been trying to land one for over a year now

It’s slim pickings out here...

[kenpomeroy]

1. Sign lease for apartment in VT.

2. Lease deposit + new computer products = "qualified remote worker expenses".

3. Receive grant funds.

4. Resell computer products and never move to VT.

5. Put apartment on AirBNB.

6. Profit.

[cmurf]

I haven't read the actual legislation, but I'd expect it accounts for fraud and what you're describing is an intent to commit fraud. Maybe you don't get caught but if you do, step 6 is gonna be damn expensive.