Thread: Vermont will pay people $10,000 to move there and work remotely

Vermont will pay people $10,000 to move there and work remotely

by Kathryn Vasel @KathrynVasel May 31, 2018: 6:12 PM ET

Calling all remote workers: Vermont has a deal for you.

The state has a new law that will pay workers to move there and work remotely. Governor Phil Scott signed the legislation on Wednesday.

Eligible workers can get up to $5,000 a year, not to exceed $10,000 over two years, through the state's new remote worker grant program.

The money can be used on qualified expenses, including costs to relocate, necessary computer equipment and software, internet access and co-working memberships.

Related: Why working from home could increase your tax bill

Vermont has a small and aging population, according to Joan Goldstein, commissioner of economic development for Vermont. "We recognize the need to recruit people to the state, and this is one of those efforts." She said her office is already getting inquiries from interested workers.

To be eligible, a worker must be a full-time employee for an out-of-state business, work primarily from home or a co-working space in Vermont, and become a full-time resident on or after January 1, 2019.

Interested workers better act fact. Funds will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, and there are annual limits to the grants.

For 2019, total grants cannot exceed $125,000. The cap increases in 2020 to $250,000, then drops back down to $125,000 in 2021.

Related: Walmart's perk for workers: Go to college for $1 a day

The US labor market has been thriving recently, making it difficult to retain workers. Government data also shows people are moving less than they have in the past.

Companies have been getting more generous and creative to compete for talent. Some have been increasing pay and changing payroll practices, while others are beefing up benefits, like offering help paying down student loan debts and flexible schedules.

But there can be tax implications for living in one state and working in another.

"You will have to pay income tax in Vermont even if you earn it outside of the state," said Goldstein. "The whole idea of getting more people is because we need to broaden the tax base ... but if you are moving from New York, taxes are less here."

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/31/pf/j...ers/index.html

Vermont Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)
worldpopulationreview.com/states/vermont-population/
Jan 19, 2018 - Vermont's population has seen a slight decline over the past few years, .... The majority of Vermont's counties saw declining populations.

Woolf: More people are leaving Vermont

Art Woolf, Free Press contributor
Published 6:37 a.m. ET Dec. 29, 2016 | Updated 9:32 a.m. ET Dec. 29, 2016

People choosing to leave is a major reason for the Vermont's population stagnation and there’s no indication that will change, says Art Woolf. Wochit

Buy Photo
(Photo: FREE PRESS FILE)


How many Vermonters will be ringing in the new year in a few days? We don’t know exactly, but the Census Bureau tells us that 624,594 people lived in Vermont on July 1, 2016. That’s down 1,500 from one year earlier and it’s the third year in a row that Vermont’s population has declined. Our 2016 population is also below the Census’s 2010 count. Only seven other states lost population in 2016 and only three others — Connecticut, West Virginia, and Illinois — have fewer people today than in 2010. Vermont belongs to a very elite club — one that we shouldn’t want to join.

In contrast to Vermont’s population decline, the U.S. population grew by 0.7 percent in 2016 and has grown by just under 1 percent per year since 2000. Vermont’s growth rate of 0.3 percent per year over the past 16 years is one-third of the U.S. average.

Why is Vermont’s population stagnating? It’s pretty simple to break down the total population change into its basic parts: the difference between the number of births and deaths, immigrants moving into Vermont from other nations, and the gap between people moving into Vermont from other states and those moving out.

Between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016 about 6,000 babies were born to Vermont mothers and about 5,500 Vermonters died, yielding what demographers call the natural population increase of 500 people. That number, shown in the blue line, has been falling for the past eight years as the number of babies born has been slowly decreasing and the number of Vermonters dying slowly increasing. As Vermont’s population ages, the number of deaths will begin to increase and births will either remain constant or fall so the blue line will inch closer to zero. In Vermont’s four southern counties, it’s already below zero.

Vermont’s immigrant population has also been a positive factor contributing to Vermont’s population change. The red line shows that for most of the early 2000s about 500 immigrants moved into Vermont each year. For the last two years, it’s been closer to 1,000 per year. According to the Pew Research Center, about one-third of these immigrants are refugees. Even though that’s a small number, refugees do play a role in Vermont’s population change. Pew finds that Vermont has the fourth highest numbers of refugees as a percent of its population of any state in the nation. Without immigrants, and without refugees, Vermont’s population decline would be even larger.



Between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016 about 6,000 babies were born to Vermont mothers and about 5,500 Vermonters died, yielding what demographers call the natural population increase of 500 people. That number has been falling for the past eight years as the number of babies born has been slowly decreasing and the number of Vermonters dying slowly increasing. (Photo: Darren Baker/Gannett file)


Finally, and most important, is the net migration of people to and from other states. In the early 2000s, slightly more people moved to Vermont each year than left. But for more than a decade, more people have been leaving than coming.

Last year nearly 3,000 more people left Vermont for other states than moved here. Even though we had more births than deaths, and immigration was positive, our population outflow is the reason for Vermont’s population stagnation and there’s no indication that will change. Indeed, as the graph shows, the rate at which people are leaving the state is increasing.

Vermont comes out high in many state ranking lists. But the ultimate ranking is not how people answer surveys or how experts configure their rankings. It’s in people’s choices of where to live. When more people leave a state than move in, means Vermont has a lot of undesirable qualities that overwhelm its assets. To be sure, other states are in a similar situation. Thirty-one states had net out-migration of population in 2016, including New York, California, and every New England state except for Maine and New Hampshire.

How long will Vermont’s population continue with this slow growth or stagnation? It has happened in the past.

Between 1830 and 1960 Vermont’s population was virtually unchanged, increasing by only 0.3 percent per year, the same rate at which it has grown this century.

The U.S. rate was more than six times faster. That change compounds into some significant results.

Vermont’s population rose by 40 percent over that period. The U.S. population increased nearly fifteen-fold. For most of the 19th and first half of the twentieth century one of our biggest exports was people.

That’s happening again. Will it remain true for the next 130 years? Check back on New Year’s Day of 2146 for the answer.

Population change in Vermont 2001-2016

Vermont population since 2000

Correction: Vermont is one of four states that have fewer people today than in 2010. This was incorrect in an earlier version of the story.
This column first posted online Dec. 29, 2016.
Art Woolf is associate professor of economics at the University of Vermont.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/s...oolf/95886408/

Last year nearly 3,000 more people left Vermont for other states than moved here. Even though we had more births than deaths, and immigration was positive, our population outflow is the reason for Vermont’s population stagnation and there’s no indication that will change. Indeed, as the graph shows, the rate at which people are leaving the state is increasing.

Yeah, well, why don't you change your government and try electing some pro-business, pro-job, pro-choice Republicans and see what happens? Just a thought. When you keep repeating the same mistakes with the same results, you might want to try something new. Like Trump says, "what have you got to lose?"

VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2018! And dump Bernie. He's not drawing people to your state with his socialist messages, he's driving them away. He only got votes in the primary in 2016 because he was handing our free college educations and Medicare for all with no money to deliver either one. And what has that snake Leahy every done for you? I mean really. Wise Up!!

People in Vermont want people with jobs to move to Vermont and buy houses so the retires in Vermont can afford to move to Florida.

No. 1 destination to move to? Florida - Florida Today
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/2017/10/.../florida...move.../816767001/
Oct 31, 2017 - See where Florida is getting its new residents. ... State, the Lending Tree study showed, has a history of bringing in visitors and new residents, particularly retirees. ... Vermont has the most residents looking to move away.


Retirees struggling to afford Vermont, moving to other states | News ...
https://www.watchdog.org/.../retirees...vermont-moving.../article_0ca56d1b-3678-5e3...
Jul 29, 2015 - By Bruce Parker | Vermont Watchdog. Vermonters have different reasons for leaving the state, but for retirees, the decision to leave ...

9 Places in America That Will Pay You To Move There - House Beautiful
https://www.housebeautiful.com/.../places-in-america-that-will-pay-you-to-move-there...
Nov 2, 2017 - As more Americans move to cities, rural American towns — and even entire states — are looking for new ways to incentivize people to move to ...