Top wages and wage differences have become a prominent news item. With the threat of a collective impoverishment caused by the crisis, intolerance towards high earners is significantly increasing. But how important are wage differences in Belgium and how important are they compared to our neighbouring countries? In this policy brief, Kris Boschmans, Geert Janssens en Wies Pairoux from the think-tank VKW Metena reflect on the desirability of healthy wage differences. They show that the fuss around top wages completely misses the far more important debate of the wage base determination process in our country.