Reporting and exchange of information on income through digital platforms
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
S urges approval of the proposition as it is an important part of an international cooperation against tax evasion 1. S considers the proposal well-balanced, that the impact assessments are good 1 and that the digital economy needs to be better included in public systems 1. S argues that the administrative burden does not necessarily increase with every transaction since the reporting occurs digitally 2. SD considers that the proposal entails an administrative burden that can make it more expensive for private individuals to trade second-hand, which can harm the circular economy 3. SD wants a smaller burden on private individuals' trade 3 4 and is positive towards an evaluation 3 4. M considers it important to combat tax evasion and economic crime 5. M argues that Sweden has an obligation to implement the directive 5. M considers that the risk is that the administrative burden becomes significant and that the risks of lack of efficiency can be judged as large 5. M argues that sellers who want to avoid reporting can choose alternative platforms 5. M considers that an evaluation should and must be made to clarify if the system works effectively 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Mathias Tegnér (S)
Mr. Speaker! Today we are dealing with the Committee on Taxation's report number 3, concerning a proposition titled Reporting and exchange of information on income through digital platforms and certain other amendments to the EU directive on administrative cooperation in the field of direct taxation.
I would like to begin by moving for the approval of the bill.
I admit without reservation that this may seem to be a matter of less importance. The name is complicated, and the question is in some respects of a technical nature. The question is, however, important.
Basically, this proposal stems from an international cooperation against tax evasion carried out under the auspices of the OECD. In the EU, this work is called DAC. It is therefore an administrative cooperation between the EU's member states against tax crimes – an important work that actually is about right being right and that all citizens and companies should do the right thing.
In this context, the proposal is therefore about information being obtained and submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency by a reporting-obliged platform operator regarding all sellers, regardless of in which state or jurisdiction the seller has their residence, under certain conditions. This is fundamentally something that we Social Democrats are positive about.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we know that the type of issues being discussed here today entail administrative burdens for companies. Most often, it is the smallest companies that have the most difficulty handling these requirements, as these companies have less administration and therefore less capacity to handle this type of issue.
We also know that four out of five new jobs are created in small and medium-sized enterprises. It is also these companies that run the risk of being hit hardest by red tape.
In this case, however, there is much that indicates that it does not need to become an all-too-great administrative burden for the platform companies. In my opinion, the impact assessments have been good. The Government has also adjusted the proposal after referral bodies submitted suggestions for revisions. We Social Democrats therefore believe that the bill lying on the Riksdag's table is well-considered.
In the background is that our world and our economy have changed, are changing while we speak, and will change as a consequence of digitalization and technological development. This is in many ways positive for us humans, as it means that income is created on digital platforms for both companies and private individuals.
To be concrete, this bill concerns, among other things, persons who on a large scale rent out private homes to tourists or persons who conduct an activity similar to taxi services over digital platforms.
We Social Democrats also believe that there are larger issues in the balance when we talk about this – issues such as the general tax morale.
My perception is that Swedes and Nordic people in general have for decades been prepared to pay a higher tax because we know that the vast majority pay tax and that the tax money we pay goes, for example, to the welfare state, which finances public activities such as preschool, school, and elderly care. We know that it is rational that we manage such things, which are financed with our taxes, collectively.
Study after study shows that the egalitarian welfare society is rational. Already the Social Democrats' first party leader Hjalmar Branting stated that the goal of politics should be that all people have the opportunity to "realize the longing of their best aspirations." This freedom for the individual to choose their own path in life goes through the welfare state. It goes through the egalitarian society. For this nation-building to work, taxes are an important component, and in that case, it is important that we all pay tax according to ability. It is important that this paying of tax is not a matter of voluntariness.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, our public systems need to be adapted to a new era. Therefore, the digital economy needs to be included in a better way than it is today. And therefore, Mr. Speaker, we move for the approval of the proposed bill.
Yasmine Eriksson (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Today we are dealing with the report concerning the government's proposal on how Sweden shall implement a directive from the EU regarding administrative cooperation in matters of taxation. Specifically, it concerns that Swedish platform operators on the digital market shall provide information on what the persons who use the platforms to sell goods or services earn from this.
When it concerns an EU directive, there is unfortunately not infinite room for maneuver for us here in the Swedish Riksdag. The EU stands above us, and we are forced to align ourselves with it. But unlike a regulation, which Sweden would have had to comply with fully, a directive at least gives us greater opportunities to adapt the approach to reach the goals that the directive specifies. In this case, it is important to be extra careful with the details in order to reach the goals without over-implementing.
Part of the purpose of the government's proposal is, of course, to fulfill the directive to jointly within the EU combat tax fraud, evasion, and tax avoidance and ensure that persons are taxed in the correct country. This is good, but one can wonder if the administrative burden the proposal entails for all digital platforms in Sweden will serve its purpose well. The platforms will need to collect new data about their users, and requirements are placed on these being reported to the Swedish Tax Agency, which in turn shares necessary information with other EU countries or countries outside the EU with which we have such agreements.
Mr. Speaker! At a time when we are trying to work towards more circular flows and when reuse is desirable with regard to both the environment and the climate, it feels tedious to place an extra burden on precisely that area by introducing that even private individuals' trade with used goods shall be reported if it does not stay within the framework of all exemptions.
We are very likely heading towards even harsher economic times. In such cases, it is not entirely uncommon that people want to sell off their belongings or feel compelled to sell things to cover the bills. And for those who need to buy something with less money in their wallet, the second-hand market today is an excellent place to find things for a cheaper price, while simultaneously making a contribution to the environment by not buying newly produced goods.
The digital marketplaces are important for individuals when buying and selling used goods. It ranges from wanting to trade a car, buy a stroller, or buy or rent tools to wanting to sell clothes or accessories that one no longer has use for.
Utilizing these platforms now risks becoming even more expensive in light of the proposal, as the platforms' administrative burden increases. The money to pay for these extra costs must be taken from somewhere. There is an imminent risk that this cost will be taken from those who want to sell via the platforms and that it will therefore become more expensive for the users. This could have a negative effect on private individuals' willingness to trade circularly in the future. From the Sverigedemokraterna's side, we would have wished that this had been taken into account to a greater extent during the drafting of the directive and later also during the drafting of the government's proposition on the matter.
Mr. Speaker! The Government's proposal is a measure that is far-reaching and administratively heavy and which concerns amounts of data that will not be relevant to hand over to another country. The proposal will with great probability affect actors who are not affected by the directive but nevertheless are subject to the same requirements.
The effectiveness of the proposal can be questioned. Therefore, it is important that an evaluation of the proposal is carried out after implementation - an evaluation that specifically looks at whether the new regulatory framework has achieved the desired effect and accuracy regarding the information that is reported.
Mathias Tegnér (S)
Mr. Speaker! I have a question for the member linked to her speech just now. To me, it seemed as if we are debating questions regarding whether one pays tax on trade with used products. But in this case, we are not debating that type of proposal. Today we are not debating questions that concern whether one should pay tax or not, but we are only debating the question of whether information should be submitted to Skatteverket or not.
I would like to ask the member a question, namely what advantages or disadvantages this proposal would entail regarding the trade of used goods, given that it is actually not about tax rules at all.
Question number two concerns administrative burden. As I see it, all parties have stood behind this bill. Then, the Sweden Democrats have, in some respects, wanted different limitations. As I see the question, there is nothing to indicate that the companies' administrative burden would become smaller from the type of limitations that the Sweden Democrats have proposed.
My last question concerns evaluations. There is a constitutional provision stating that the Riksdag shall evaluate its own laws. There are also regulations stating that the Riksdag as a whole shall evaluate our laws. I therefore wonder about the purpose of today presenting a notice stating that the government shall evaluate a law, since this is already something that both the government and the Riksdag are to do.
Yasmine Eriksson (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Member Tegnér seems to have misunderstood my statement. When it comes to the taxation of goods on these platforms, what I am actually speaking about is that when the platforms are to take these administrative measures, a cost will arise for those companies. That cost will probably need to be covered from elsewhere. Consequently, it could become more expensive for private individuals who use the platforms to, for example, sell their goods. This would be an obstacle in the work with a circular economy.
We would like to promote the reuse of things that can be reused. Therefore, we believe it would have been better to place a smaller burden on that area. This actually aligns with what the member is asking about the administrative burden. It becomes an increased burden the more sellers one needs to report to Skatteverket.
When it comes to the evaluation of the new rules that will be implemented, we take a positive stance towards it.
Mathias Tegnér (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the answer, member! My point was that there is nothing to indicate that the administrative burden is a consequence of how many transactions are to be reported, since there is much that indicates that the digital platform companies will report this information digitally. Then there is very little that indicates that the administrative cost increases with each transaction to be reported. I am therefore skeptical of the conclusion that the costs of trading on digital platforms would increase because we have chosen to draw the boundaries for what should be reported in different places. It appears unlikely to me.
My second question concerned evaluation. Fundamentally, both the government and the Riksdag have a responsibility to evaluate new laws. Even during the previous parliamentary term, I noted that the Sverigedemokraterna submitted motions to have laws evaluated. I mean that this is strange because there is already a statutory requirement for us and the government to evaluate laws. It appears as if one is crossing the river after the water has been crossed if, every time, one submits a motion to the government to evaluate and follow up on that which is already supposed to be evaluated and followed up.
Yasmine Eriksson (SD)
Mr. Speaker! The administrative burden that will fall on these companies will differ. Some platforms are aimed only at entrepreneurs and others only at private individuals, while others are mixed. If one excluded private individuals' trade from the companies' reporting, the burden could have been reduced and the circularity increased, as well as the willingness to sell via these platforms.
As the member speaks regarding the evaluation of laws, we, as I said in my previous reply, are positive that the evaluation should be carried out. What we proposed was a time limit for when it should be carried out which differed from what is stated in the bill.
Crister Carlsson (M)
Mr. Speaker! It is my first time in this honorable assembly.
What we are now debating is a proposal that means Swedish so-called platform operators shall provide information on what persons who use the platforms to sell goods and services earn. The information shall be reported further to the tax authority in the country where the platform operator is based.
It is the previous government that this directive has come from, and it is based on an EU directive on administrative cooperation regarding taxation in Sweden. Consequently, we have more or less an obligation to implement this in Swedish legislation. In conjunction with this, OECD's corresponding rules are also being implemented, which shall be used between Sweden and countries outside the EU.
The overall purpose of an obligation to provide information for platform operators is to prevent tax fraud, tax evasion, and tax avoidance, and it is naturally important to combat cheating and economic crime, not least considering that it competes in an unserious manner with serious entrepreneurs. It is important, however, that the measures taken to combat such activity are accurate and effective.
Reporting and exchange of information on income through digital platforms
Regarding the relationship between efficiency and administrative burden, it can be stated that the risk is that the administrative burden becomes significant while the risks for a lack of efficiency can be assessed as large. The danger is that the sellers who want to avoid being reported will choose alternative platforms that do not report and thus do not risk being hit by actual sanctions. An evaluation aimed at clarifying whether the system functions effectively and provides the desired effect should and must be conducted.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
(Decisions were made under § 13.)
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.