$10,000 is less than what Silicon Valley firms will cover just for relocation. I guess if you're thinking of doing it anyway, it could push you over the edge. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Outside of SV, $10K doesn't cover what Microsoft paid to move us to Redmond...20 years ago. Apples, and oranges, and other fruits in our comparison, I realize. Point is, unless one were planning on moving there anyway, $10K doesn't go a long way toward offsetting the expense of picking up and moving across the country, or even just up the road from Boston.
It’s not going to make anyone move to a cabin in the woods. But if you have already decided to move to a cabin in the woods, it might make you pick Vermont over New Hampshire.
Whether $10k can sway you says nothing whatsoever about your wisdom. It is one factor in a multitude. Some people will like Vermont enough for other reasons that this is sufficient motivation. Other people will never have thought about it and this offer will make them start to do so. Some of these will fall into the first camp.
Even if your only consideration is your income, tax rates are a very small part of this. If you pay no local taxes but have to hire someone to clear the snow and blowdowns off your road, you're still out that money. If you have no town water or sewer, you have to pay someone to provide and maintain those services. Very few people consider only tax burden when choosing where to live. If that were so, people would be flocking to Kansas instead of San Francisco.
The larger point, though, is that some people will be closer to the decision boundary and $10k will move the boundary far enough to put them over.
Kansas is a world away from San Francisco (geographically and socially), New Hampshire shares a border.
New Hampshire still has municipal services despite much lower taxes. Of course, it varies but for someone making over $120k a year (many people in tech) the income tax is a huge lifetime burden that can likely eclipse any out-of-pocket differences.
