New requirements for payment service providers to provide information
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns new requirements for payment service providers to provide information to combat cross-border VAT fraud 1 2. S motions for approval and argues that tax evasion is a systemic threat, distorts competition, and finances criminal gangs 1. S emphasizes the importance of a robust tax system to finance the welfare state and that tax evasion must be countered globally 1. M also motions for approval and highlights that effective information sharing between authorities is a prerequisite for combating welfare crime 2. M points out that the new obligations for payment service providers shall contribute to increased VAT revenues and strengthen the competitiveness of honest companies 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Madam Speaker! Today we are considering the Committee on Taxation's report SkU2 New requirements for payment service providers to provide information.
The economic crisis has tightened its grip on the economy of the society. The Sverigedemokraterna government, with Ulf Kristersson at the helm, has failed to take control of the economic crisis, the security threat, and the insecurity in our country.
It is possible to provide relief to ordinary wage earners when the cost crisis is at its worst and simultaneously give healthcare and schools the money needed to be able to retain teachers, nurses, and nursing assistants. The basis for the state's ability to step in and provide relief to welfare, if the government were to choose to do so, is a robust tax system.
The main task of the tax system is to ensure sufficient tax revenues to finance the welfare. It is largely taxes that pay for healthcare, childcare, elderly care, roads, public transport, and so on.
To contribute to a legitimate and fair tax system, it is important that the tax rules are general, with broad tax bases and tax rates that are well-balanced against the goals of the economic policy. In addition to this, the tax system shall contribute to redistribution, equality, and equity. To ensure the legitimacy of the tax system, all attempts at tax evasion must be countered. That some flee their responsibility to pay tax leads to the fact that others need to contribute more. Furthermore, the mere fear that some evade paying tax risks reducing the legitimacy and the general willingness to pay.
Madam Speaker! Tax evasion is constantly seeking new paths, and steady steps are required to reduce tax evasion. When tax evasion is international, the work to counter it must also be carried out globally. The proposal in the committee report is a consequence of an EU directive with requirements for payment service providers and a complementary regulation on measures to combat VAT fraud through strengthened administrative cooperation.
In order to comply with the directive and the regulation, a new reporting and documentation obligation is proposed for payment service providers. The purpose of the proposed provisions is to make it easier to detect and investigate cross-border VAT fraud. The obligation means that payment service providers shall report information on certain payment transactions to the Swedish Tax Agency, which shall forward these to the European Commission, where they are collected in an electronic system that the Member States may, under certain conditions, have access to.
The proposal in the report is a step towards countering VAT fraud, but more needs to be done. In 2020, the Swedish Tax Agency assessed that the total tax error for VAT was 7.5 billion withheld from the state, partly due to pure fraud. A special investigator has been tasked with proposing measures to prevent fraud and tax evasion within the value-added tax area. Currently, a partial report is out for consultation.
The investigation proposes that providing incorrect oral information during taxation should be punishable. Previously, only incorrect information provided in writing could constitute grounds for criminal liability. The investigation also proposes that correct information provided in certain cases should be considered incorrect information in the taxation. This applies when the information provided constitutes a link in a value-added tax fraud.
Madam Speaker! Tax evasion and economic crime are something very serious. In addition to the fact that it takes resources from the common good, we know that criminal gangs can finance their activities through various types of tax evasion, welfare crime, and other economic crimes. It is unacceptable, and every such loophole must be closed. Criminal gangs shall be fought with the full strength of society. But tax evasion and economic crime are system-threatening in several respects. Fraud also distorts competition and creates unfavorable conditions for serious entrepreneurs who do the right thing. Therefore, tax evasion and tax avoidance shall be powerfully countered.
In conclusion, I move for the proposal in the committee's report to be approved.
Crister Carlsson (M)
Madam Speaker! I begin by moving for the approval of the proposal in the Committee on Taxation's report.
The Government proposes that the secrecy between all authorities in Sweden be removed in order to tackle welfare crime. Efficient sharing of information is a prerequisite for this. A special investigator has been tasked with considering and proposing improved opportunities to exchange information within and between authorities and other bodies covered by the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act.
There is also an international crime that knows no borders. The Committee on Taxation's report New requirements for payment service providers to provide information is part of the fight against international welfare crime, which is modernly equipped, possesses large resources, and operates without borders. This means that a new obligation is introduced for payment service providers, including banks, credit institutions, and postal giro institutions, to report information to the Swedish Tax Agency regarding certain payment transactions that are carried out. The Swedish Tax Agency shall forward the information to the European Commission, which in turn collects them in a central electronic system called Cesop, Central Electronic System of Payment Information. There, information on cross-border payments will be collected.
New requirements for payment service providers to provide information
The proposal means that a new reporting and documentation obligation is introduced for payment service providers. They will be required to report information on cross-border transactions when the same recipient has received at least 26 payments during a quarter. The purpose is to counter and detect VAT fraud in cross-border transactions. Roughly estimated, it will lead to approximately 500 million kronor in increased VAT revenue. The documentation obligation means that the payment service providers will be required to document information on all cross-border transactions and save them for three calendar years.
The Swedish Tax Agency receives an expanded mandate through Cesop to monitor documentation and reporting obligations. The Swedish Tax Agency also receives the tools of injunction and audit. If the rules are not followed, they will have the opportunity to impose two types of penalty fees on suppliers: documentation and reporting fees. All of this is done for the purpose of combating VAT fraud. It will be introduced throughout the EU and enter into force on 1 January 2024.
On December 1, 2022, SVT reported on a massive raid against what was described as the EU's largest VAT frauds ever. The total losses were estimated at approximately 2.2 billion euros, and the operations had branches even in Sweden. We must hope that this proposal contributes to stopping the VAT frauds, which threaten our welfare, and ensures that the honest companies get better competitiveness.
I hope that I have stuck to the subject.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.