Hey you have hit on a couple of points there. The first one is good schools make a difference - well actually it is more like are they officially registered or not ie did I pay 100 bucks for a degree or did I do some work. And the second is with the American taxes you do get a "discount" I think as far as the Americans are concerned the first $80K becomes tax free to subsidize the foreign tax payments. You need to clear this up with HR as it is fairly common. Oh and don't believe that there are no quotas on 4 month permits - just there are ample... And do believe you will as a foreigner be discriminated against (Although and I might be shot down for this - in Zurich it is not so bad...) Check whether your HR can find you accomodation as part of a package. You don't happen to work for HP do you - if you do I might (will) be able to get you the name of the person to contact.

Good luck