(cont. from § 6) Tax procedures and population registration (cont. SkU15)

Hanna Westerén (S)

Mr. Speaker! For the sake of order, I would like to begin by moving for the approval of reservation 13.

With an ongoing war in our immediate vicinity, death and destruction in Gaza, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis sweeping across the world as a result of crisis and war, I often find myself being immensely glad that I live in Sweden, that I got to grow up here and that I get to be a parent here, where the school bus rolls, where children are welcomed into a school that has a compensatory mandate, and where healthcare and elderly care meet my relatives and me when health fails.

To reach where we are today has in no way been free. It comes from the toil and strain of generations before us who have foregone a part of their income to build the welfare society that we today sometimes find it easy to take a little for granted, a welfare society that demands new deposits into the account and renewed marriage vows to forgo a reasonable proportion of our wages so that the welfare, according to its mandate, shall be able to deliver services according to need all around in our entire country - every day, all year round.

Sweden has a tax system that is excellent in many respects, which many have studied and adopted. The willingness to contribute is high in Sweden, as is the willingness and ambition to do the right thing. This applies to both private individuals and business owners. The Swedish Tax Agency has made an admirable journey to become more accessible to the citizens for whom the authority exists.

But some challenges still remain. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, it is so that despite our eminent tax system and in parallel with the heroes of the welfare state meeting our needs every day, our society faces challenges that put people's everyday lives to the test and that risk eroding our trust both in each other and in the welfare state.

The situation on the streets and squares is, in its own way, very alarming. I come from Gotland myself, and perhaps it is because of our location that we are fortunately spared from explosions, shootings, and reckless violence. Still, I am extremely concerned about the gang violence that is spreading and tearing society apart, which extinguishes young lives and spreads so much fear and despair.

We who are sitting here today should know that the responsibility falls heavily on us to turn off the taps for the criminal gangs. We have a great responsibility to make the right decisions for Sweden.

Welfare, but also the tax system itself, has proven to be a breeding ground for criminal actors who use fully legitimate structures to launder money and evade taxation. It is also no secret that there are intimate connections between white-collar crime, prostitution, and serious organized crime.

Tax evasion and economic crime are system-threatening in several respects. That some flee from their responsibility to pay tax leads to the fact that others must contribute significantly more, and that suspicion that others are evading payment risks reducing legitimacy and the general willingness to pay. Fraud distorts competition and creates unfavorable conditions for those business owners who do the right thing. Tax evasion and tax avoidance must be powerfully countered, and it is therefore also extremely justified to increase the authorities' appropriations in this regard.

Welfare crime is the other side of the same coin. Publicly owned companies must, of course, lead by example, but more steps also need to be taken for us to reach and utilize the system's full potential. More needs to be done to counter illegal work and the rampant crime in the working life.

A little over a month ago, SOU 2024:14 Arbetslivskriminalitet was handed over to Minister Paulina Brandberg. I truly expect the government to realize the majority of the proposals in that investigation, not least those concerning a larger toolbox for the authorities and measures to protect vulnerable workers. There are certainly lives to save, tax funds to recover, and sound competition to safeguard here, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to conclude by devoting a small moment to what I began with, that is to say, this matter of voluntarily relinquishing a reasonable proportion of one's salary or profit to contribute to the welfare state - to renew those marriage vows - so that the welfare state can manage to continue delivering. It is precisely here that things are limping alarmingly in Sweden today. Millions of Swedish households are collapsing under the burdens of the cost crisis, but it is possible to distribute the burdens differently.

Mr. Speaker! It is certainly not hard times for everyone in our country. Swedish banks had a combined surplus of 180 billion kronor in 2023. Let that figure sink in - 180 billion Swedish kronor! Another distribution of the resources would definitely increase the trust in and the legitimacy of our Swedish tax system. But the voting government parties voted no.

Even an exit tax would ease and redistribute the burdens differently in a very difficult time, and such an investigation was underway. But the SD-led government unfortunately shut it down, and I truly regret that. I did, however, understand from Boriana Åberg's contribution here a short while ago that the shutdown is a part of the simplification work that the government is driving, and that was an exciting announcement.

Mr. Speaker! In order for our tax system to be able to continue to function with the strong general welfare, it is crucial that tax is paid according to ability to pay and that welfare is provided according to need. An exit tax - it is also commonly called capital taxation upon relocation - would be an important piece of the puzzle, as would a temporary tax on the banks' excess profits. I believe, in fact, that the tax system's inherent beauty and redistributive power are well worth protecting and developing.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Cecilia Engström (KD)

Mr. Speaker! The Christian Democrats have long advocated for the issue that employer contributions should be visible on payslips. Our minister Erik Slottner tasked an investigator in February to review the conditions for our authorities to introduce this in connection with wage payments. There is nothing preventing companies from doing this already today, but to task their own authorities to do so is to lead by example.

That the tax deduction becomes visible to the employee increases the understanding of what an employee costs the company and shows what the business sector contributes to the welfare. The employees also become aware of and are alerted to how our Swedish tax system works and that tax on wages is not the only thing that contributes to our common welfare.

Mr. Speaker! A lot is happening with this government. I am also pleased that the Christian Democrats and the government are making a major investment in simplifications for companies. Good conditions for entrepreneurship are important for economic growth, and we want to reduce the regulatory burden and the administrative costs for our companies. Therefore, about thirty of our agencies, including the Swedish Tax Agency, the Swedish Customs Service, and the Swedish Enforcement Authority, have been tasked with reviewing how they can simplify.

This is also an opening to look at the possibilities of digitalization. With more services, the reporting can become simpler. The Government is working to improve the conditions for information exchange between the authorities, which is a prerequisite for continuing the development of personalized digital services.

Mr. Speaker! It is also important that tax errors are limited and that tax crimes, tax fraud, and tax evasion are countered. Therefore, this government has, among other things, established the new Payment Authority. It shall work to prevent, deter, and detect incorrect payments by auditing payments using data analyses and sampling to identify fraud and benefit crimes. Government agencies and certain other actors shall provide information to the Payment Authority, which in turn can also notify other agencies and relevant actors in cases of fraud, benefit crimes, and other inaccuracies.

An important part of the work to counter incorrect payments from the welfare systems and in the cooperation against fraud, rule violations, and crime in the working life is that the relevant state authorities, municipalities, and unemployment funds can exchange information with each other. A new law on the duty to provide information to counter incorrect payments from the welfare systems as well as fraud, rule violations, and crime in the working life has been referred, and the law can be in place already this year.

Mr. Speaker! It has not escaped anyone's notice that a war is ongoing in our neighboring area. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Ukrainians have come to Sweden with the help of the mass flight directive. Many are the Ukrainians who have sought their sanctuary here and quickly entered employment and other self-sufficiency by learning the language.

Not everyone has succeeded as well, and for them, the time in Sweden is difficult and economically challenging because they are forced to live on the daily allowance they receive. It is an allowance that has remained unchanged since 1994, which is naturally not reasonable. Kristdemokraterna sees an increase as justified and is pushing the issue in the government.

The most important thing for the group of Ukrainians is that they also continue to have good opportunities to support themselves through work. We are therefore pleased that the government's referral to the Council of Legislation regarding improved living conditions also concerns improving conditions for those who have temporary protection and giving them greater opportunities to establish themselves on the labor market.

In concrete terms, it is also about Ukrainians not only having a coordination number but being able to be registered in the population register. Through this, their opportunities to participate in important social services increase, for example, opening their own bank account. Ukrainians' opportunities to support themselves on the labor market are also further increased by the group being able to participate in the social welfare when their employers pay in social security contributions.

Mr. Speaker! The fight against organized crime and, above all, gang crime is the government's highest priority. Particularly serious is welfare crime, which is the criminal gangs' latest business model. That type of social decay is especially serious because, in addition to cheating society out of money, it also strikes the very weakest, while simultaneously undermining both the social security in and trust in society. The fight against organized crime must therefore be won.

A fundamental prerequisite for us to be able to do this is that we know who lives in our country and where people live. A reliable population registry and a functioning system for establishing identity is absolutely necessary in the work of making Sweden a safe country again. A reliable population registry system is also indispensable for cleaning up the shadow society that has been allowed to spread in the wake of a more or less unregulated labor migration without functioning control mechanisms.

The Swedish National Audit Office's previous audits point out serious deficiencies in the Swedish Migration Agency's and the Swedish Tax Agency's routines for checking migrants' IDs. The government's measures have, however, slowly begun to take effect. The number of errors in the population register has decreased, and the result for the population registration activities developed positively during 2023.

We look forward to taking part in the Swedish National Audit Office's review of the authorities' work with establishing identities, which is presented in May. A continued reduction in the number of population registration errors and improved authority work with establishing identities is absolutely necessary in the fight against welfare crime.

Mr. Speaker! I vote in favor of the proposal in the committee's report.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Mr. Speaker! It has been over two years since I and we in Miljöpartiet raised the question regarding the conditions here in Sweden for the refugees who left war-torn Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion. We raised their right to SFI, because we know that the possibility of getting a job for many depends on language skills. Unfortunately, it is still the case that this right does not exist. It was not bad that the government added funds to the municipalities for voluntary access to SFI, but it is problematic that the Ukrainian refugees do not have this right in the same way as all other people who receive residence permits in Sweden because they are refugees.

It is even worse regarding the possibility of making a living. The compensation of 71 kronor a day for a single adult is not even enough to buy a lunch in town. It is also not enough to travel round trip to the health center with public transport – at least not with single tickets, as expensive as they are here in Stockholm. Still, the government refuses to increase the daily compensation.

Now that a proposal has finally been referred which is to make it possible for people to be registered in the population register, a long series of different compensations are also listed that just Ukrainians shall not have the right to. I do not understand, Mr. Speaker, why the Christian Democrats want that just Ukrainian refugees shall not have the same right as everyone else once they have been registered in the population register.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Cecilia Engström (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Annika Hirvonen for the questions.

The compensation is one of the issues that we Christian Democrats constantly raise in the debates that arise in the government regarding what is possible to do for these people, who have naturally ended up in a difficult situation.

The Ukrainians are not here as ordinary refugees, but they are here according to the mass flight directive. That directive came at a time when it was believed that this would be a short-term war and that they would soon be able to return. Now that we see that time has passed and that they have ended up in a difficult situation, we are looking at many different ways to address the problem and ensure that the situation improves for them as well.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Mr. Speaker! I did not receive an answer as to why the Christian Democrats believe that Ukrainian refugees, when they are registered in the population register, should have fewer rights to our common welfare than others who are registered in the population register.

The Christian Democrats themselves point out that many work, contribute, and pay tax. Why should just Ukrainian refugees - and only them - be exempted from parts of the welfare system?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Cecilia Engström (KD)

Mr. Speaker! It is about the fact that the Ukrainians who are here do not have a normal refugee situation, but they have a country that they are expected to return to. Their wish is also, to the highest degree, to be able to return to their country of origin. Therefore, there are special rules that apply to their situation. When one now tries to find a solution for them, it becomes a special solution, and it may not include everything that is included in the Swedish welfare system. It is important that everyone knows that the welfare system we have must function for everyone and that people do not have the same opportunities if they are not here on the same terms as everyone else.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Bo Broman (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation 1.

The Swedish tax system is what finances our common public expenditures. The tax system must be fair, predictable and long-term. People and companies must feel that the tax system has legitimacy, and they must have trust in it.

Taxes must be designed so that people dare to take risks and start companies. Taxes shall contribute to growth and development throughout the country and facilitate job creation and entrepreneurship. The thresholds for daring to start a company must be lowered, and regulatory simplifications and lower taxes must be implemented.

It is important that our taxes are designed so that the competitiveness of Swedish companies is strengthened. It is the foundation for our welfare and our companies. All of Sweden benefits if investments can be attracted to the country.

A correct population register is essential for the correct tax to be collected from our citizens. It is pleasing that the Swedish Tax Agency has now begun the work on a census. This should have been done significantly earlier. It is of utmost importance that the population register reflects reality in all material respects and that those covered by the system have correct information. This is a prerequisite, among other things, for the welfare systems to function. The population register also forms the basis for where one has the right to vote and where one should be taxed.

Mr. Speaker! If one thinks that any expenditure the state has is important - if one thinks it is important with the justice system, police, welfare and school - one should also think that it is important that the tax system works. It is, after all, the foundation for precisely all other activities that we engage in here in the Riksdag.

If one thinks it is important that the state receives tax, one should also think it is important that it happens in a legally secure and fair way and in a way that creates legitimacy for the state and for the system as a whole, so that those who pay tax are treated in a decent way.

It is precisely this that we are addressing here today. It is about when the state, in its tax proceedings, does not take into sufficient account legal certainty, justice, and the fact that regulations should be at a reasonable level and not burden entrepreneurs, who are the ones who create jobs, in an excessively difficult way. If we want welfare and tax revenues tomorrow as well, we do not only need tax levels that are at a competitive level, but also a tax system and a tax procedure that encourages entrepreneurship and work instead of being burdensome for entrepreneurs and making it harder to be an employee.

The equality and simplicity of the system must improve. It must become easier to understand how the system works. It should not be that one as a taxpayer – whether one is an entrepreneur or an employee – feels burdened by their contacts with Skatteverket and thinks that the tax procedure is difficult. That is not how it should be, but unfortunately, many testify that it is exactly so.

Mr. Speaker! Sweden is a democracy, and we vote in general elections. However, the point is that citizens in a democracy need access to complete information to better understand what they are actually voting on. This requires a higher degree of transparency. It is therefore important that taxes and fees are made visible to the citizen in a more obvious and clear way. Payroll taxes and tax reductions need to be presented in a clear and simple way. People need to understand what is being financed and how much is financing this.

The Swedish justice system and even tax morality are constantly being put to the test. When trust in society and in other people decreases, it generally becomes more common for people to feel they see a reason to engage in tax evasion. In that context, it is reasonable to ask the question: Are the tools we have at our disposal truly fully adequate for their purposes?

That we are forced to apply a system of personnel registers in order to turn black labor white but also as a tool against wage dumping clearly shows that the morality within economics and taxation has declined. Furthermore, the regulations surrounding personnel registers and cash registers in, among other things, the hotel and restaurant industries are perceived as jagged. High sanction fees are charged for unintentional minor errors, even though it is obviously not fraud in the true sense that has been committed. Instead, it affects the law-abiding companies. Everyone who works in the company's premises must be registered when they arrive and when they leave. The Swedish Tax Agency carries out unannounced inspections on this. Many in these different industries experience the system as burdensome and feel that it takes up a lot of time and resources. While the fraud continues on its part, it is an administrative hurdle for many honest business owners.

This problem necessitates a need to examine ourselves and look at new solutions. We need to investigate the system and its effectiveness in combating tax evasion, as well as how the administrative burden for entrepreneurs can be kept to a minimum. We need to achieve a sense that the tax system is fair and that we get a better society for the tax we pay - a restored social contract.

Madam Speaker! Sweden's economy is based primarily on existing companies but also in the public sector. In order to protect our industry and our welfare, we need to constantly work on updating the multi- and bilateral tax treaties we have with the rest of the world. Sweden has continuously signed tax treaties with many countries, and the international tax treaties need to be continuously updated. It is a constant process, which means that if Sweden becomes passive in this issue – and we have also been from time to time – we can end up in a situation where we eventually get a tax competitive disadvantage compared to other countries. We therefore see it as important to once again increase the pace in the updating of our tax treaties.

In recent years, we have seen a sharing economy emerge through the new digital technology. This is obviously positive, but it should be investigated how tax rules can be changed to simplify things for the growing sharing economy. It must also be ensured that there are no loopholes in the tax legislation that mean tax is not paid in a correct manner. In other words, a clarification and simplification of the tax rules for the sharing economy is needed.

Madam Speaker! The vast majority of taxpayers lack sufficient knowledge about which taxes they pay, how much they pay, and in what way taxes are paid. This means a democratic deficit when people do not have knowledge of which public resources they are participating in paying into. We therefore see a need for increased awareness of taxes through increased transparency on payslips, and we want to see, on the annual final tax statement, a summary of the taxes and social security contributions in kronor that each individual has paid, for example in the form of diagrams and pedagogical explanations. Every citizen should continuously know what is being paid in and how the money has been distributed among different public activities. It is therefore about increased information with justification of tax decisions as a part of increasing transparency. In a similar way, receipts need to become more transparent when it comes to the point taxes' part of the final price. Overall, an increased transparency regarding what one pays for taxes is needed in Sweden.

We also need to develop the tax law procedure and ensure that we have order and clarity in the population registration - for Sweden's well-being and for our competitiveness.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Karlson (L)

Madam Speaker! It must pay off better to work and to be employed if Sweden is to continue to be a country for new ideas, innovations, and entrepreneurship. Therefore, it must pay off better to put in a little extra effort, whether it concerns taking that extra hour at work or studying that extra university course. It is a fundamental liberal conviction that the tax system should reward, not punish, hard work and ambition.

In order to be able to build a strong common welfare, we need to pay tax. That is how we can ensure that there are teachers in the classrooms, doctors and nurses at the health centers, and police on our streets and squares. The more people who work and start companies, the more can contribute to our common.

Sweden's economy is built up by skilled and enterprising entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that our tax system is both simple and transparent and not more complicated than necessary. In the Liberals' Sweden, no one is afraid to start a company; rather, it should be promoted from a political standpoint.

The Liberals will always stand up to prevent superfluous rules and further administrative burdens for the country's companies. Maintaining a balance between necessary rules and excessive bureaucracy is crucial to promoting entrepreneurship and economic growth. It is particularly important that we do not stifle innovation and entrepreneurship through over-regulation and by imposing unnecessary bureaucracy on companies.

Madam Speaker! In an ideal world where no one tries to evade taxes or exploit the system, the need for control measures would be minimal. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. Even though I wish that all citizens acted honestly and responsibly, the reality is far from perfect.

Today's report contains a number of motions regarding the Swedish Tax Agency's role as a supervisory authority. The Swedish Tax Agency has a particularly important role when it comes to detecting and combating various types of tax fraud and tax evasion. The Swedish Tax Agency already allocates large resources today to combat this type of crime, which is good. The rules of the game must be the same. A citizen who behaves and does the right thing should not be affected because someone else cheats and exploits the system.

In order for Sweden to be able to maintain its strong position as a competitive country with exports out into the world, we need to strive to make tax rules and laws as clear and easy to apply as possible. It should be simple to do the right thing. By simplifying and clarifying the regulatory framework, we can reduce the risk of unnecessary misunderstandings and mistakes while simultaneously making it easier for citizens to fulfill their tax obligations in a correct and predictable manner and furthermore promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.

Madam Speaker! The quality of our population register is an important prerequisite for a well-functioning society. The data is disseminated daily throughout society to both public and private actors and is necessary for many operations to function. If there are inaccuracies in the population register, it creates problems in our society.

In order to gain better knowledge of who is residing in our country and to, among other things, combat welfare crime and organized crime, it is important that the state strengthens the control over the population register. Fraud with population register data is often a link in organized crime. The data is used by criminals to, among other things, obtain welfare benefits and exploit people who are already in a vulnerable situation.

At the same time, it is also important that the Swedish Tax Agency reviews the principle of public access and how public employees in particularly vulnerable positions can be protected. It is important that legislation keeps pace with the digital development occurring in society in order to best manage the balance between publicity and secrecy. We know that many public employees, for example social workers, are subjected to influence in their professional roles daily and, unfortunately, also to direct threats. This means that they may not make well-considered decisions or decisions at all. That is not what we want in our Sweden.

Madam Speaker! Accurate population registration gives the state better conditions to combat crime and prevent the emergence of social exclusion, and provides important knowledge in the work of countering problems such as, for example, overcrowding. It is clear that the Swedish Tax Agency must continue its work on this front, and the new laws that entered into force in the autumn of 2023 will facilitate the work. If we are to tackle organized crime, order and clarity in the population registration is required.

Our safety systems are intended so that people in a vulnerable situation receive the help they are entitled to, not so that criminals are fed with means they are not entitled to. We cannot accept the shadow society that has been allowed to spread.

Madam Speaker! People work, toil, and pay taxes, and the Swedish trust remains high. This is, however, nothing we can take for granted. People's trust in the state and our security systems risks failing when the tax money they pay does not go to the right purpose. This contributes to eroding trust, and this must be countered with the utmost force.

With that said, I would like to vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Eric Westroth (SD)

Madam Speaker! The reason why we are two registered speakers from the Sweden Democrats in the debate on this report is that a committee initiative on a new gender identity law is currently being prepared in the Committee on Social Affairs. The report that the Committee on Taxation is debating today does not concern the committee initiative in substance, but it will have a major impact on the Committee on Taxation's area of responsibility and on the population register.

Actually, I did not want to request the floor in the debate on this report, but since the Liberals are probably one of the strongest driving forces in this issue, I feel compelled to do so, and even then, all the ministers we have asked have ducked and deferred the debate to the Riksdag.

With this committee initiative, one shall, as I will elaborate in my speech, be able to change one's legal gender and thereby also receive a new personal identity number. The member pointed out the errors in the population register in his speech, as well as that the Swedish Tax Agency needs to strengthen the control in the population register and that fraud is often a part of organized crime.

My question to Patrik Karlson is what impact the member believes the new gender legislation, where one will at least theoretically be able to change gender and receive a new personal identity number every four months, risks having on the population registry and on the government's ambition for a coherent and correct population registry.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Karlson (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank Member Westroth for the question. It feels good that I am allowed to represent our minister in this matter.

It is, as the member is pointing out, a legal change that will mean that, for example, a person who today is born as a man and identifies as a woman can change their personal identity number. This has been debated a lot during this time. It is said, above all, that for example criminals might exploit this to hide or that people who have debts will exploit the situation to go underground.

The Swedish Tax Agency has, for example, stated that our systems for all agencies today are not developed to follow the entire history if a personal identity number is changed more than once, perhaps up to four times, if one were theoretically to play with that idea. On the other hand, they have indicated that, if they are given sufficient time, they will resolve this issue. I therefore do not see that part as particularly problematic.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Eric Westroth (SD)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the answer.

The Liberals have been a party that has stood up for law and order, and therefore one can be a little surprised that the Liberals nevertheless seem to be the party that, with the greatest passion, drives the issue together with the parties to the left of the Social Democrats.

Naturally, there is an expectation of being able to resolve this issue over time. But at the same time, there is a problem with forcing through this legislation instead of investigating and resolving the problems that exist.

If one listens to the authorities, the proposal's shortcomings are excused by the fact that it affects so few people. But when one simultaneously opens the door for creative individuals with criminal intentions to obtain new personal identity numbers and various identity documents, there is reason to suspect that they will use this opportunity to a greater extent than calculated.

I wonder, then, to what extent Member Karlson is concerned about this and about the objections that criminals can use the system, which several referral bodies have pointed out.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrik Karlson (L)

Madam Speaker! I want to emphasize that the risks and concerns that have emerged among the referral bodies must be considered and taken very seriously. But changing legal gender is not something one does like when one orders food today by clicking in their BankID and gets the food in 40 minutes. It will not be really that simple to change legal gender.

It will be a means test, and it will go through instances that shall make an assessment and approve that one is allowed to change legal gender - that it is actually possible. It will therefore not be as simple as I think it sounds from MP Eric Westroth's side. I am therefore not so worried about it.

However, I assume that when this bill finally enters into force and becomes a reality, the legislative change will be carefully followed up, evaluated, and an assessment will be made as to whether anything needs to be changed in order to, among other things, counter what the member is raising.

I am not as worried as the member, but on the other hand, I think it should be followed up and taken seriously. It is not something one can just wave away as easily as that.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Ciczie Weidby (V)

Madam Speaker! I begin by moving for approval of reservation 7.

Since the F-tax system was introduced in 1993, the rules have been changed quite many times, and the system has become increasingly generous over time. The latest changes were implemented by the center-right government in 2009 when the definition of business was expanded in order for more people to be granted F-tax. These changes mean that it is now sufficient to have only a single client when one is self-employed. This client can also be the self-employed person's former employer.

This naturally causes problems. According to a report from LO, it is becoming increasingly common that employees are actually dismissed and offered to perform the exact same work as self-employed. Thus, the employer can lower their labor costs and also avoid their employer responsibility. This phenomenon is most common within the construction and transport sectors and among those who work temporarily in Sweden.

According to a report from TCO, almost every tenth self-employed person is to be considered a so-called false self-employed person, that is, a person who acts as a self-employed person with approval for F-tax but who actually works under conditions similar to an employee. The current design of the F-tax system thus erodes the entire concept of an employee and strengthens the employers' power and ultimately affects the entire balance of power on the labor market.

Madam Speaker! It is almost inevitable to touch upon platform work when debating precisely F-tax versus self-employment. This insecure work has emerged during the 2010s. Platform work can take many different forms, but those who perform the work are united in that they receive work via a digital platform, that they generally lack employment, and that they are regarded as self-employed. There are, admittedly, platform workers who have employment, but these so-called hybrid employees often have very short fixed-term contracts and a small number of scheduled hours each month.

The development towards more and more platform workers is often described as if it is some kind of new type of economy that has emerged. It is called the gig economy, the sharing economy, and the platform economy. To claim that it is new, parallel to flexible capitalism, is however a bit exaggerated. Rather, this phenomenon fits within the framework of flexible capitalism.

The new thing is not the jobs themselves, but how those who perform the work are governed and what their working conditions look like. The majority of platform workers lack employment, and this means they miss out on most of the rights and legal protection that employees possess. The employers are constantly seeking methods to reduce costs and bypass employment rules and collective agreements.

Madam Speaker! Self-employment is, however, a rather new phenomenon on the Swedish labor market. The business idea of self-employment companies is to "provide opportunities and create security for persons to act as self-employed without them needing to obtain an F-tax certificate and handle the administration associated with self-employment."

Many of the platform workers have a self-employment via self-employment companies. In that way, the platform company does not need to take any employer responsibility, but instead, the self-employment company functions as some kind of employer proxy. The self-employment company also does not take any employer responsibility for the platform workers but only functions as some kind of administrative solution.

Many of the platform workers who have such self-employment lack approval for F-tax while simultaneously continuing to perform work for a company under employment-like conditions. I believe that approval for F-tax should be required to obtain self-employment. One should not be able to become self-employed if one, according to the Swedish Tax Agency's rules, does not qualify to be approved for F-tax. Self-employment should not occur in jobs where the employee does not qualify for this.

Madam Speaker! It is reasonable that more than one principal should be required to be approved for F-tax. We must, of course, have such a requirement to safeguard the concept of an employee and labor law. A reasonably formulated explicit requirement for more than one principal would also reduce the risk of employers forcing people to start companies instead of being employed solely for the purpose of lowering the employer's labor costs.

It is also important to emphasize the role of F-tax as a protection for the individual consumer. The person who hires a contractor who is approved for F-tax does not need to make any tax deductions or pay employer contributions on the remuneration. If an unscrupulous contractor is approved for F-tax, the system cannot be exploited for the purpose of hindering the detection of undeclared work.

Today, an approval of F-tax applies until further notice, this is in order to limit fraud. The time limitation shall apply to both limited and unlimited tax liability and apply to employees who bill under a certain amount in tax.

Madam Speaker! Maud Olofsson, Minister for Enterprise in the center-right government that deregulated the F-tax system in 2008, wished that everyone would be born with an F-tax certificate. It was the Alliance government that made it easier to obtain F-tax and who changed the rules. This is the heart of the matter - it is a question of what view of humanity and ideology one has. Is it really the intention that we humans should be born into a market?

To paraphrase an old party leader: There must be some damn order on the labor market. We cannot have a system where people are forced into false self-employment where they are practically made into day laborers. One cannot one day say that one safeguards the Swedish labor market model and the next day allow a system that weakens it.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

ANDRE VICE TALMANNEN

Usually we do not use swear words in the speaker's chair, but perhaps it was a quote. I just wanted to remind of that.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Helena Lindahl (C)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by saying a few words that have to do with both yesterday's snowstorm and tax.

As you may remember, Mona Sahlin once said that it is cool to pay tax, and it was actually repeated by Anders Borg, former Minister for Finance in the Alliance government, even if it was not as popular when he said it. It is clear that one can think that tax is important for the core of the welfare state, but then the welfare must apply to everyone in the whole country.

I have read what were almost war headlines about the bad weather in the south, that the roads were impassable and that there were enormously long queues. Of course, I feel very sorry for people who have had to sit in the car for 15 hours or more. It is terrible, and I surely would also have become both irritated and fed up. I have full understanding for that. However, there was something that struck me, as I and many others have talked about individual roads and problems with the plowing of these.

There are an enormous number of individual roads all over our country that I and many others drive on but which are not plowed. Previously, Madam Speaker, there was a possibility for a small village association or road association to, via Trafikverket, purchase plowing from Trafikverket's subcontractors if they were going to pass by anyway. Then, at least, one avoided the advance fee, which is very high in parts of the country.

If you live outside Vilhelmina, for example, you can have to drive several miles before you reach a private road that is to be plowed, and not everyone always has a hero of a farmer in the village nowadays. What do I want to say with this? Well, that Trafikverket is financed by our tax money and that Trafikverket needs to exist in the whole country.

I just needed to express this from this rostrum today when I had the opportunity. Why is it that, after six hours of queuing, there are apocalyptic headlines in every evening newspaper? Do you think there has been a single headline about Trafikverket's lack of responsibility for individual roads in the countryside all over the country? There hasn't been a single one.

If all of us humans are to continue to think it is cool to pay tax, there must be a duty to demonstrate this throughout the entire country. Otherwise, there is no social contract left. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to utter these words! I have had them very much inside me these past few days. It has irritated me quite a bit, but now I have had the opportunity to express them here. I hope that my comrades in this room are along and make wiser decisions even on individual paths.

Madam Speaker! I thought I would begin today's debate by raising the issue of personnel registers and the challenges that exist there. It is, therefore, a list of who is active at, for example, a construction site or in a business premises within certain industries. It must be updated daily and be easily accessible if the Swedish Tax Agency makes a visit.

Those who operate a restaurant, vehicle service, laundry business, or body and beauty care, are food or tobacco wholesalers, or have a construction company shall keep personnel registers. In certain industries, there are great advantages to the system of personnel registers. The construction industry needs, as you know, support in the form of rules and controls that ensure cheating and organized crime can cease.

We know that human trafficking is occurring and must be stopped. In this case, the personnel register can be an effective tool for employers, together with trade unions, to keep track of who is present at a construction site, that they have the correct protective equipment, and that they receive the wages they are entitled to.

Madam Speaker! The system of personnel registers has been expanded several times since it was introduced, most recently in 2018, for example to include all persons living under the same roof where business activities are conducted, which my colleagues in this room are aware of. They must register if they in any way contribute to the activity.

That an owner of a business and their family are covered by the requirement to enter the personnel register, I believe, shows a lack of understanding, to say the least, of how a small family business functions. One lives and operates in the company around the clock.

The system of personnel registers has been evaluated several times, not least by us in the Committee on Taxation. But now it should, nevertheless, friends, be time for a real change. The Government would need to come back with concrete proposals on how the system of personnel registers can be changed to simplify things for the companies and reduce the number of companies affected by the system.

In a first step, Madam Speaker, the aforementioned expansion from 2018 must be abolished. Red tape must be reduced. It is important for small companies that want to develop and invest in their operations. They must be able to ask their eight-year-old to go out with the kitchen waste without risking sometimes slightly absurd fines.

Madam Speaker! I now move to my third and final point. I will return to the second point, as I am so passionate about individual roads and the countryside.

Madam Speaker! In recent years, cross-border commuters who live in one Nordic country and work in another have repeatedly received new notices regarding their tax residency. They have risked double taxation, which I believe many have heard about. It has been a tax shock of hundreds of thousands of kronor for some who have done nothing other than worked and paid tax as they should, but who have happened to live and work on different sides of a border. Normally, one pays tax in the country where one works. But if one, for example, is employed in Denmark, lives in Sweden and works remotely more than 50 percent, one may need to pay tax in both Sweden and Denmark. This became particularly clear during the covid years.

Madam Speaker! Another example of double taxation can concern a person who lives in Sweden and has set aside pension funds through their company in Denmark. Skatteverket considers that the money should be taxed the year the money is paid in, while Denmark's corresponding authority considers that tax should be paid when the money is withdrawn. This means that the person will be taxed in both countries, even though it is explicitly not permitted.

In conclusion: A review of agreements regarding taxation and social security between Sweden and the other Nordic countries is needed. Therefore, I hope that the government takes the necessary measures as soon as possible to eliminate the occurrence of double taxation.

Do not forget the plowing of individual roads!

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Annika Hirvonen (MP)

Madam Speaker! I borrowed 100 kronor from an acquaintance so that I could buy cooking oil. I wanted to give my son some variety with cooking oil. Then I could both fry and boil potatoes.

Alex, who moved from Ukraine, shows with her hands and tries to measure how far 100 kronor goes. She tries to illustrate for me what kind of economically vulnerable situation she and her five-year-old son ended up in when they arrived in Stockholm from the war-torn Ukraine. Alex is a trained doctor, and her husband remains in Ukraine and cares for those who have been injured in combat.

The compensation is at most 71 kronor a day, less for cohabitants and even less for children. It does not go far.

It was around the days when the debate about oatmeal was raging in Sweden that I visited Alex, who was one of the volunteers at the Red Cross food and clothing distribution. It was said that everyone certainly has the means. That Alex had the means was thanks to another Ukrainian refugee who had 100 kronor to lend to her. And thanks to the Red Cross distributing oatmeal, onions, carrots, potatoes, and diapers, the other Ukrainian refugees could also serve a more varied diet than just boiled potatoes to their children.

Madam Speaker! It has now been more than two years that Ukrainian refugees have lived in Sweden under these conditions, on so little money that it is far below what we normally call the subsistence minimum in Sweden. Charity, such as companies donating makeup whose best-before dates have expired, grocery stores sponsoring with a few bandages and toothpaste, voluntary forces and members of the Red Cross donating a small amount, it is what makes the difference between some degree of dignity and having to skimp on the potatoes for the children.

This is so unworthy that it is embarrassing to talk about when meeting people from other countries. No other country in the Nordic region has such poor conditions for the refugees whom we say we stand on the same side as.

Alex's father is in Ukraine now and contributes to what we call the defense of Europe's freedom and democracy, and his mother has to buy cooking oil with money borrowed from other refugees.

The government investigated the possibility of increasing the daily allowance but concluded that it was not possible to discriminate. Therefore, it was waived. Rather than increasing the daily allowance for all asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees, the choice was made not to increase it for anyone.

Now, a proposal has been sent for consultation which may perhaps lead to a more reasonable economic situation for the Ukrainians at some point this summer. But even then, Madam Speaker, one cannot grant the same conditions and the same rights to the Ukrainian refugees as to others—no, on the contrary. In the bill, there is a long list of benefits that everyone else living here has the right to, but not these refugees specifically.

I think it is time to change the rules regarding the population registration. I am only asking for one day's change, namely from having had permission to live in Sweden for one year and one day to having had permission to live in Sweden for one year to be able to be registered in the population register. Then much would resolve itself.

Madam Speaker! The population register is the basis for very much. It becomes clear in the case of the Ukrainian refugees. The right to healthcare, not only for those who cannot wait but also for screening for cancer and other things, follows with the population register. That it is correct in the population register is also important to know that one pays the correct tax to our common fund.

The population register is public, and sometimes it is a matter of life and death whether one's information can be kept protected. Many people in Sweden live with protected personal data due to threats. Not infrequently, it is a violent former partner, who may even have threatened to take one's life or the children's lives, that one is hiding from.

Negligence regarding protected personal data has enormous consequences for, for example, women subjected to violence. It can mean that one is forced to move, take the children out of their regular schooling and start over somewhere else, or resign from one's job and hope to find a new one.

Living hidden and with protected personal data already involves a complicated everyday life. It is time that we tighten things up and ensure that we at least do not, from the side of society, slack off with the protection that is these people's safety.

Today's report covers many important issues and not everything can be contained either in a single speech or in the debate with all its speeches.

Madam Speaker! Today I choose to vote in favor of reservation 19, but I naturally stand behind all of the Miljöpartiets reservations.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Eric Westroth (SD)

Madam Speaker! My colleague Bo Broman presented our positions regarding the report on tax procedures and population registration, and my speech will concern the population registration and the risk that criminals exploit the system with the new gender identity law. I will not move for the approval of any other reservation than my colleague Bo Broman did; I therefore move for the approval of reservation 1.

Madam Speaker! As I have stated in the previous exchange, there is a proposal for a committee initiative in the Committee on Social Affairs which entails a new gender identity law. The fact that the proposal is being driven as a committee initiative is likely due to the lack of a majority within the government cooperation. Instead, the Moderates and the Liberals, together with the opposition parties on the left, are bypassing the cooperation by pushing through the new law as a committee initiative in the Riksdag's Committee on Social Affairs. Only the Sweden Democrats and the Christian Democrats have declared that we are negative towards a new gender identity legislation, which concerns not only the content but also the manner in which the issue is being driven.

That proceeding with the proposal as a committee initiative instead of, as is customary, letting the government submit a proposition which other parties can submit follow-up motions on, also involves other democratic restrictions. Among other things, the Riksdag and its members have been deprived of the democratic tools we usually have to scrutinize the government's work through written questions and interpellations to ministers within their respective areas of responsibility.

The Sweden Democrats have submitted questions to the Prime Minister as recently as earlier today. We have also submitted questions to the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Financial Markets, and the Minister for Social Insurance, and all have simply brushed off the question and referred it to the Riksdag. We therefore feel compelled to raise the issue in this debate as the proposed law in certain parts, such as population registration and the handling of personal identity numbers, affects the committee's area of responsibility.

Madam Speaker! I believe that few members of the Committee on Taxation will participate in the Social Affairs Committee's debate on April 17.

What consequences will a new legislation then have, and in what way will it be able to affect the work with a coherent identity management? Yes, Madam Speaker, if one has turned 16 and wakes up one beautiful day and feels that one actually belongs to another gender, it will be sufficient that one has met a psychologist, and then one can go into one of Skatteverket's offices and apply to have one's gender changed.

In a previous exchange, it was stated that the change would be preceded by an investigation, but that is not the case. No medical diagnosis is needed, nor are any investigations by a psychologist or counselor required. After four months, one is to receive a new legal gender. Since the Swedish personal identity number contains a gender marker, i.e., that the second to last digit of the personal identity number is even for girls and odd for boys, one then also receives a new personal identity number. It is not the end of the world, perhaps some say. But yes, Madam Speaker, because the Swedish personal identity number, besides being a key factor for correct population registration, is also the unique identity marker that follows us through our entire lives and from which authorities and private companies obtain legitimate, relevant, and correct information about us as individuals.

What happens then after an individual has been issued a new personal identity number, and what can this ultimately lead to? Well, Madam Speaker, Swedish authorities connected to the so-called Navet have their registers updated automatically, but private actors, who often receive their registers from SPAR, suffer from a delay. Several major referral bodies have pointed out flaws in the proposal as it stands now. They also point to the possibility that opens up for dishonest persons who want to evade law enforcement authorities or old transgressions.

Bolagsverket warns, among other things, that several gender changes and personal identity number changes can complicate searching and tracking in the agency's various registers.

Svenska Bankföreningen argues that the system could hinder their work against fraud, money laundering, and financing of terrorism.

One can only imagine all the "valid" identity documents a person can have with several different identities and personal identity numbers. Before Swedish authorities, the fake identity documents are hopefully intercepted, but before private actors, such as banks, insurance companies, lenders or foreign authorities, this is unlikely, which opens doors for organized crime.

If one wakes up one beautiful day and realizes that it was probably the right gender one was born into, one can also apply to change back to one's previous gender. But after four months, one does not get back one's original personal identity number but a completely new, third, personal identity number. There will also be no connection from the third personal identity number to the first, and the authorities would in that case have to search manually, with the administrative burden this will entail.

One does not need to be overly academically educated to realize what opportunities and doors the Riksdag opens for organized crime if the new law becomes a reality. It is therefore incomprehensible that the proposal is not referred further to address the problems that many of the heavy referral bodies highlight.

The Social Affairs Committee even rejected the existing minority protection and stated that it could mean "significant but," without any further justification. Instead, they are forcing the law through in the hope that the authorities will solve the problems as they arise. This, Madam Speaker, we do not consider to be a responsible way to enact legislation.

In conclusion, I want to say that the problems that the Swedish Tax Agency and other authorities and companies may face as a consequence of the new law are still a breeze compared to the problems and tragedies that could arise when children themselves are to decide their own legal gender.

It is easy to believe that one does this to be kind, but it is my conviction that politicians in 10-15 years, if not sooner, will stand in this chamber and at this rostrum with excuses that they were naive or that the public debate made it so they could not bear to resist and say what they truly thought.

I finally want to urge all members in this chamber to resist the party whip and vote as you truly feel on this issue. At the same time, I want to urge all spectators and TV viewers who are watching this debate and who think that the bill is problematic, or even crazy as a well-known member from the Socialdemokraterna has called it, to regardless of party affiliation contact parliamentary politicians from your constituency and urge them to vote correctly, that is, no, to the committee initiative on the new gender identity law - if nothing else, for the children's sake. The Socialutskottet plans to hold the debate on this proposal on April 17, and the Riksdag will likely vote on the issue the same day. It is urgent now.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Ilona Szatmári Waldau (V)

Madam Speaker! Today we are debating the various motions that have been submitted to the Riksdag. As far as I can judge, we have no motion on population registration and gender identity. Nevertheless, that debate has appeared here in the chamber.

I still want to point out that today it takes several years for a trans woman or a trans man to obtain the legal gender that the person has, that is to say that a trans woman should be allowed to be a woman even in the population register.

It is an incredible suffering for the persons who first, for several years, depending on which region they belong to, need to queue to get the investigation. Then the medical investigation takes several years. After that they can, if the doctor thinks it is appropriate, get another legal gender. It is the legal gender that matches how they look and the legal gender that matches how they are perceived and how they perceive themselves.

The greatest gain with the bill is that one distinguishes between the medical and the legal. Now it is mixed together. We have had the same law. We were pioneers in Sweden when it came to transgender care. We were among the first to allow that one could change their gender and confirm the gender that one feels they belong to or that one belongs to. We lag far behind when other countries have made it easier.

A great deal of what is put forward in the debate, both in debate articles and by those who reach out, is based on an old bill that never reached the Riksdag. It is what we hear repeated here in the speaker's chair and in debates.

For example, one will not be able to make several changes of legal gender just like that as one feels like it. The first time one gets a simple review. Then it will become tougher and tougher.

I began by stating that many countries have introduced a distinction between medical and legal gender. Some of us who are interested in these issues and are not just complaining but are trying to learn something have been to a meeting with representatives from other Nordic countries.

How has it gone since it was introduced that it should be easier to change one's legal gender? Have any instances of abuse been seen? No, they answer. There is no abuse. Perhaps some isolated cases over several years. It has not been systematized to keep changing gender in any way to evade authorities. No, it does not occur.

Now I may be anticipating the debate that will occur when the law is to be discussed. Another major difference is that here in Sweden, we have some within the women's movement who see it as a great threat to women. In other Nordic countries, the trans movement and the women's movement have joined forces and seen that they have common things to fight for. Here, they do not do that.

Madam Speaker! I have registered a speaking time of six minutes. Since I did not expect that we would have a debate that did not concern the motions, I will not use the full speaking time.

I will now move on to what I signed up for the debate to speak about. It has already been raised in the debate by Annika Hirvonen and concerns the population registration of persons from Ukraine.

We know that approximately 8 million people have fled from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion. Of the 8 million, it is approximately 5 million who have been granted temporary residence permits according to the EU's mass flight directive. Approximately 50,000 have been granted temporary protection in Sweden. Approximately 40,000 of these 50,000 are believed to remain in the country.

The Ukrainian citizens who receive protection in Sweden according to the mass flight directive are given largely the same rights and conditions as asylum seekers. Consequently, they are forced to live on the same low daily allowance, which Annika Hirvonen spoke much about, that asylum seekers have. They have no right to study SFI, and they only receive healthcare that cannot be postponed.

Vänsterpartiet considers that both asylum seekers and the Ukrainian citizens who have been granted temporary residence permits should be given better living conditions, higher daily allowances, and the conditions to be able to have meaningful employment. Rapid integration is needed to avoid passivity and so that refugees can quickly enter Swedish society. The long asylum process is debilitating and hinders integration.

The decision to activate the mass flight directive for refugees from Ukraine was initially valid for one year. But the EU Commission extended the period of validity by an additional year. The directive can be valid for a maximum of three years. After that, efforts for return or regular asylum processes can begin. This means that the people from Ukraine who have been granted residence permits according to the directive may need to live in Sweden with limited rights for more than three years.

Compared to the other Nordic countries, Sweden has received the fewest refugees from Ukraine per capita. A mapping shows that Sweden provides worse living conditions for the Ukrainians who receive protection here than is done in the other Nordic countries. The allowance is lower, the language teaching is worse, and the right to healthcare is limited, while those in the other Nordic countries have the right to the same care as the citizens have.

As a general rule, those who will live in Sweden for at least one year forward shall be registered in the population register here. The Ukrainians will be here much longer than that. But according to the rules in the mass influx directive, they still shall not be allowed to register themselves here. As a registered person, one receives a personal identity number and the same rights as other asylum seekers who have received protection in Sweden. This would provide significantly better conditions to enter society and feel security in an extremely difficult situation. It would simplify the possibilities of entering employment and reduce the vulnerability among the large proportion who, for various reasons, do not enter employment.

The protection according to the mass exodus directive is temporary, but temporary protection is unfortunately the main rule for asylum seekers in Sweden today. Being registered in the population register here and obtaining a safer existence does not prevent anyone from returning to Ukraine when it is possible. There is also much that unfortunately suggests that the war in Ukraine will continue for a long time to come.

For Vänsterpartiet, it is obvious that those who have fled the war in Ukraine and been granted asylum in Sweden should also be able to register their residence here. I therefore wish to move for the approval of reservation 19.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Helena Lindahl (C)

Madam Speaker! I would like to move for approval of reservation 16.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

Tax procedures and population registration

(A decision was to be made on April 10.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)