Thank you for this. I don't understand why people have such a hard time thinking this way. Many people are very elastic and flexible about where they live (especially when it's 'anywhere in the US') and as someone with a job in the bay area, I don't understand why I should take a pay cut to move somewhere cheaper to do the same job. The employer ends up incentivizing me to stay in the most expensive area that also happens to be the easiest place to get a competing offer... makes no sense
And hey, if you had started at Brex prior to Sept 1st, you wouldn't even have to game the system. But your coworkers _would_ (and would also likely be at risk of being terminated for cause if they got caught, not to mention state-tax issues).
If your company has your address in the wrong state (and withholds there) you can still correct it when you file your taxes for a full refund in the state you didn't actually reside. Though you'd maybe be penalized in the proper state for underwithholding unless you manually paid quarterly estimates in that state as well.
It also leaves the company open to gaming. If I know I can make significantly more than my peers just by having an address on the bay area I could find a way to get an address while living somewhere else.