Being from Europe originally and having lived in Silicon Valley now for more than 10 years, I did the math on comparative taxes.

In the end, it's a wash. If you take into account everything. I make more money in the US. But my retirement costs are higher. And by the time I put two kids through college (college is free in some European countries), it basically balances the extra cash I made over a 20-year career.

Of course, for any given situation (single, dual income no kids), your results will vary. But I'd argue that a household with 2 kids is fairly common.