Response to interpellation 2025/26:20 on the Swedish Tax Agency's measures against undeclared work
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns Skatteverket's measures against undeclared work and unfair competition. M argues that the government is consolidating efforts to stifle the criminal economy by providing authorities with better tools, resources, and legislation 1 2 3. M emphasizes that undeclared work causes tax losses and risks workers' health 1. S argues that the government is cutting appropriations to combat crime in the labor market 4. S wants to reactivate a mandatory contractor deduction for construction companies to counter unfair competition 4. S considers that there is a lack of reforms providing authorities with sufficient tools 5. S adds 75 million kronor to Skatteverket to increase controls against undeclared work 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Marcus Andersson has asked me how I intend to work to ensure that the Swedish Tax Agency has the right tools to tackle illegal work and how I intend to act to tackle the unfair competition that illegal work entails.
The government is concentrating its efforts to choke the criminal economy, for it is that which feeds organized crime. An important part of that work is to stop undeclared work. Undeclared work causes large tax losses annually and can involve substandard working conditions, health risks, and poor development opportunities for workers. Among employers who use undeclared work, other forms of work-related crime and regulatory violations also frequently occur.
The government has therefore taken several measures to stop undeclared work. The Swedish Tax Agency has, for example, been given better opportunities to monitor companies with F-tax, and the government has recently decided on a referral to the Council on Legislation with proposals that tighten the authorities' controls against VAT fraud. The Swedish Tax Agency also participates in extensive inter-agency cooperation to combat crime in the labor market, which is an important tool against, among other things, undeclared work. Within the Government Offices, several proposals are also being prepared regarding improved control tools for the Swedish Tax Agency, including against companies that provide rot and rutar work.
When it comes to the National Audit Office's report, it is currently being prepared in the Government Offices, and it will be answered in the near future.
Marcus Andersson (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to start by thanking the Minister for Finance and the Swedish Parliament Administration for ensuring that we could find a date for this debate before my period as a substitute ends. Today is my last day, and it feels good to have had the opportunity to highlight these so very important issues.
Many companies behave themselves and do the right thing. They are the backbone of our Swedish society. They contribute with jobs and capital and ensure our welfare. They have a high tax morale and follow all legislation. But, Madam Speaker, the unreported work incomes in the economy amount to a full 97 billion kronor per year, which corresponds to 1.9 percent of GDP. It is therefore about 5 percent of the total work incomes. Limited companies with an annual wage sum under 5 million kronor account for 67 percent of the black work incomes and only 13 percent of the reported incomes.
I do, however, agree with the Minister for Finance that this is not just about a tax loss, but also about people actually suffering and companies going bankrupt.
The Swedish National Audit Office writes, among other things, in its review of the Swedish Tax Agency's measures against undeclared work: "The review shows that the quality of the Swedish Tax Agency's control selection is good in the sense that the selections lead to controls that often result in adjusted tax or registration. Much suggests, however, that the adjustments largely concern something other than undeclared work, that is to say that the Swedish Tax Agency has corrected other errors than those that were the purpose of the control."
It is quite remarkable with controls that do not deliver what is requested. Furthermore, the Swedish National Audit Office describes that the risk analyses that Skatteverket has conducted have not had a major impact on the prioritization of measures against undeclared work.
Madam Speaker! The Minister for Finance mentions several measures in his response; among them, I am pleased that the Swedish Tax Agency's request for improved control tools is included. The request from the Swedish Tax Agency regarding control tools is the basis for how the agency will be able to work effectively to tackle undeclared work.
The Swedish Tax Agency proposes to the government that, in order to address the problem, it should abolish the ban on conducting audits via telecommunications networks that applies to parts of the Swedish Tax Agency's control tools and adapt the regulatory framework for securing evidence to the technical developments, which have resulted in electronic information now most often being stored in cloud services.
In the consultation process, there are several instances that are positive towards the proposal, including the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish Customs Service, and the Ministry of Finance. Then we have some instances that are negative. Among others, Företagarna states that the proposal has a number of major deficiencies which result in that the proposals are rejected. The Business Delegation for Taxation writes in principle that they do not consider that the individual's civil liberties and rights as well as the principle of proportionality are ensured. In the absence of an analysis of this, it is their opinion that the referred memorandum cannot serve as a basis for legislation.
Madam Speaker! My question is therefore: How does the Minister for Finance intend to proceed with the Swedish Tax Agency's request for modern control tools? Will the Minister for Finance listen to the authorities that express themselves positively? And will the bill that arrives in December provide the Swedish Tax Agency with the modern control tools that the agency requests?
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank Member Marcus Andersson for the interpellation. It is important. Illegal work has been a problem in the Swedish labor market for a long time, actually for several decades, and has taken different forms.
I also want to say that I am glad we could have this debate today because I know that Marcus Andersson will now be leaving the Riksdag for this time, even though he might return to the Riksdag at a later time. Few things can be so important to talk about on a day like this as this issue!
When I joined the Ministry of Finance three years ago, there were several things that struck me. One thing was that the authorities in Sweden, for example the Swedish Tax Agency, the police and many more, work very closely together and are passionate about tackling the problems that exist. They know that they perform an important part of the task of crushing crime.
However, many tools were missing in the form of legislation. Therefore, we have now worked step by step on legislation. For example, we have ongoing work on identity management and have broken much of the secrecy between authorities, which means they can share information in a different way. Our entire society and our system is built on the fact that we have trust in one another. It is beautiful, fine and good, but there are far too many who exploit this.
So, step by step, the authorities and the Swedish Tax Agency are getting legislative tools, but they are also getting resources to be able to hire more people who can monitor and follow up on this in different ways.
Something else I did when I entered the Ministry of Finance was to tell the officials that we are in a state of emergency. The state of emergency is that there is a grossly criminal activity that has gone deep and infiltrated many operations. As the interpellor mentions, it destroys competition in many markets.
Everything is driven by money. Much of the killing, the shootings, and the bombings we have seen is fundamentally about money, Madam Speaker. If we cannot stop the flow of that money, we will not be able to crush that crime. It has therefore been a priority for us in the government, both towards the authorities and as we now prepare new legislative proposals. It must happen with a certain tempo. It takes time to produce legislation, but it must happen with tempo because it is an emergency.
I mentioned earlier a few things that the government has done, for example Fskattgodkännande for better control possibilities. It has been an important issue. That we are also now stopping VAT fraud better than what could be done before is also important.
We will continue to work and step by step do everything required to choke the criminal economy. Of course, it is much about the criminal networks' money, but it is also about people who are exploited and suffer very badly. Perhaps they are drawn into the criminal networks, and in their workplaces they are invisible to everyone except the criminals. We will never tolerate this. These people suffer badly and must be rescued out of this.
Marcus Andersson (S)
Madam Speaker! I may have missed it, but I did not perceive whether the government will proceed with Skatteverket's request.
A lot is happening on many fronts, but I will bring up something that perhaps goes against the Finance Minister's talk about the government concentrating its efforts. The appropriation to combat crime in the labor market is being cut in the budget. The state grant that trade unions and employers have been able to apply for since 2018 is being reduced. It has, for example, been used within the cleaning industry to be able to help vulnerable workers from unscrupulous or criminal employers to serious employers with good working conditions. Today, the state grant is 4.5 million, and in the autumn budget, the government announced that the appropriation is being cut by 2.5 million kronor for 2026 and 2027. In 2028, the appropriation is expected to decrease by a further half million kronor. The government is therefore choosing to reduce an appropriation that has obviously led to healthier competition.
Madam Speaker! In my world, it does not look like the government is mobilizing to tackle illegal work or unfair competition.
We Social Democrats take tax evasion and tax planning seriously, and we are therefore allocating 75 million more to the Swedish Tax Agency to, among other things, increase controls against undeclared work.
The Riksrevisionen's report mentions, among other things, the construction industry. It shows how companies create costs through false invoices in order to be able to pay out black wages. This occurs through subcontractors who have not performed any services. Over three decades, various investigations have highlighted and criticized the conditions in the construction sector. It clearly emerges that different measures were needed to counteract crime, black labor, and noteworthy ownership structures.
In 2002, there was a proposal from the then Building Commission regarding a mandatory contractor deduction. The deduction was to be made directly from the invoice, and a certain percentage of the contractor's invoice amount would be withheld by the client and paid to Skatteverket. The purpose was to ensure tax payments. By having the state receive a portion of the payment directly, the risk that the contractor avoids paying tax or employer contributions is reduced. The advantage is that this resembles the rot and rut deductions.
We want to reactivate the proposal for a mandatory contractor deduction for construction companies, as it could be part of addressing unhealthy competition.
We see that some measures to tackle illegal work are missing, so how will the Minister for Finance prioritize combating unfair competition within the construction sector specifically?
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin with the motion. The Swedish Tax Agency often comes forward with wise suggestions when they see that something needs to be changed. It can be about legislation and other things. The Government always has a close dialogue with the Swedish Tax Agency, and I will return when the motion has been processed.
Madam Speaker! I believe we share the problem picture even if we have slightly different views on the tools. I would still like to assert that few governments have invested as much money and changed the legislation so quickly in this area as this government. The authorities have received reinforcements for their operations every year and tools to tackle crime in the workplace and other crime in a more accurate way. I have great respect for the fact that Marcus Andersson may want to use a different tool, and I rule nothing out.
Let me say a few things that we are doing anyway. We are strengthening the authorities' identity checks. For example, one should be able to use biometrics more and be able to save biometric data. Skatteverket, Tullverket, and Kronofogden have received a common objective from the government, simply so that they can pool their resources against the criminal economy. Tullverket has also received significantly sharper tools, which makes it easier for them to fight crime. Skatteverket's population count means that we have never had such a good picture of how many people there are in Sweden, who is here, and who is somewhere else even though they say they are here. Having a grip on the population and who is exploiting the systems is incredibly important. The number of customs officers has also increased, and they are now also allowed to carry weapons in the line of duty. All of this together means that the authorities get better tools and greater strength to strike against the criminal economy.
This is one of the government's primary priorities. If we are to succeed in stopping very serious crime, we must choke the criminal economy and tackle both undeclared work and other things. We are doing a lot but will probably need to do more. For example, we will process the request from Skatteverket and return to it.
Marcus Andersson (S)
Madam Speaker! The current government is, at least, clear that they prioritize hunting down subsidy fraud. I also perceive that the Minister for Finance genuinely wants to tackle and address undeclared work and unfair competition. However, there is a lack of reforms that provide the Economic Crime Authority, the Companies Registration Office, and the Swedish Tax Agency with the tools needed to counter unfair competition. Many companies are having a tough time today.
This week we saw good cooperation when several authorities collaborated to carry out a major crackdown against illegal work and associated workplace safety crimes at a large construction site. It was exactly the kind of cooperation we Social Democrats envisioned when the proposal for akrimcenter was presented by the Social Democratic government.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Minister for Finance for the debate and wish her good luck in the reform work. I will, of course, monitor these bills and the associated debates digitally from home in Skövde.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank Marcus Andersson for the debate and for his time in the Riksdag.
I am pleased that many are following the issue, for it is incredibly important. We have mentioned the invisible workers and how crime is fueled by all this money. As the interpellator very rightly pointed out, there are also many honest business owners who are hit very hard when others are criminal. These three perspectives are important to keep in mind, and we continue to do so.
I look forward to the upcoming debates in the chamber and wish Marcus Andersson good luck and a pleasant weekend.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.