In principle, yes. But things are not always so clear cut. In certain European countries, there is a special tax regime that lets you pay very little tax as lon

In principle, yes. But things are not always so clear cut. In certain European countries, there is a special tax regime that lets you pay very little tax as long as you stay under a specified limit (the highest is, AFAIK, €100k/year and 15% tax). In such a scenario, you're better off trading a lower salary for more free time (if possible, of course) as a large portion of a higher salary would be eaten up by higher taxes and/or COL (if you had to be relocate). In essence, you're making less in absolute values but you're /much/ better off in relative terms (say, per hour).