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> I forget which Scandinavian country this is true for but I think there exists a country where compensation is a matter of public record.

It's Sweden.

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I think it’s Finland. I’m in Sweden and I’m almost sure that my compensation is not public. What you can do IIRC is to request a credit check on someone which would contain the income and the tax paid but then the person is notified who requested the data. Typically this is done when you apply for a mortgage.

Paid tax and taxable income is public in Sweden, just call Skatteverket (Swedish IRS) and they'll send you the info on anyone you can name.

Edit: more info in Swedish here: https://lawline.se/answers/ar-inkomstdeklarationer-allmanna-...

In Sweden, Norway _and_ Finland.

The tax you pay is public record.

For example, in Sweden, you can get a 'tax calendar' (a bit like an old-fashioned phonebook, but with total pay instead of phone numbers). You can buy relevant pages conveniently online.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxeringskalendern

It is a trivial division-by-twelve to determine the salary of your co-workers and neighbours.

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