Response to interpellation 2025/26:561 on the use of tax revenue

Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Eva Lindh has asked me if I intend to put a stop to all forms of waste of taxpayers' money. The answer is yes – and that work is already underway.

The government's starting point is clear: Every tax krona shall be used responsibly and with respect. It is therefore central that the tax-funded activities are conducted in a purposeful manner, are efficient, and focus on core activities.

The government has during the mandate period taken several measures to reduce the waste of taxpayers' money. We have reviewed the organization of the state administration to reduce the number of agencies. At the beginning of 2026, there were nine fewer than the year before. At the same time, the government is taking measures to conduct a review of the state administration. Among other things, Statskontoret has been tasked to map administrative costs in the state, propose analyses that can lead to further reassessment and streamlining, and propose regulatory simplifications for increased efficiency in municipal activities.

Furthermore, measures are being taken against incorrect payments and subsidy fraud. With the establishment of the Payment Authority and strengthened tools for the municipalities, the scope for exploiting the welfare systems is reduced. Every incorrectly paid krona is a betrayal of the taxpayers and of the core of the welfare system.

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Minister for Finance Elisabeth Svantesson for the answer.

Every wasted tax krona is a theft from the people. This is said to be an old quote by the former Minister for Social Affairs Gustav Möller, but it is also a very modern principle. When a tax krona is used incorrectly, it is not just money that disappears. It is a teacher who cannot be hired, a health center that cannot be staffed, a road that cannot be repaired, a police officer who cannot be trained, or a family that has to bear the costs through higher taxes or poorer welfare.

This interpellation is therefore about something much larger than individual examples of waste. It is about what responsibility a government takes for the Swedish people's money.

Our message is simple. We Social Democrats believe that every tax krona should be used as effectively as possible. But the government has chosen another path. The government says that it takes responsibility for the economy, but it borrows for tax cuts and leaves the consequences for coming years. This government has run the largest deficits in generations and has borrowed almost 200,000 kronor per minute, and it does not stop there.

In the spring, the Minister for Finance said that the money was finished. A few months later, unfunded measures were presented that barely extend past election day. Now it is the beginning of August, and the SD government has already put out election promises for over 200 billion.

The government's own calculations show a deficit in the state budget of 167 billion kronor this year. Next year, the deficit is estimated at 181 billion. These are large sums of money. At the same time, Sweden faces long-term commitments.

Mr. Speaker! The government also says that municipalities and regions must streamline and do more with less, but when it comes to its own organization, obviously different rules apply. Between 2022 and 2026, the appropriations to the Government Offices increased by 2.3 billion kronor. That is an almost 30 percent increase. When healthcare, school, and care are forced to save, the government is therefore allowing its own organization to grow.

This is, naturally, about credibility. One cannot demand restraint from municipalities, regions, and authorities while simultaneously allowing their own costs to increase sharply. Despite repeated questions and debates, I still have not received any information on what the money has been spent on.

The truly great waste, however, occurs when the systems are designed in such a way that our common money can leak out year after year. Tax money that should go to students and teachers instead becomes profits for school corporations. Welfare funds can end up with companies with links to organized crime. There is public procurement that rewards companies that compete through cheating, wage dumping, and poor working conditions. Welfare is forced to spend more and more time on administration and control systems instead of on people.

That is why we Social Democrats have developed a program against the waste of taxpayers' money. The Finance Minister says that work has begun. This occurs after four years in which the money has flowed out of the state treasury.

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Aida Birinxhiku (S)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Finance for the answer. I also thank my colleague Eva Lindh, who has submitted the interpellation.

Much wisdom has already been spoken, but I would like to take the opportunity to ask the Minister for Finance about something she often returns to, namely confidence in the future.

How are people supposed to feel faith in the future when unemployment is at record highs, when bankruptcies are at record numbers, and when short-term measures time and again have to take precedence over long-term reforms that could give momentum to the economy and the jobs. All this is happening at the same time as the Finance Minister has stated that the money is gone.

According to the Moderates and the Sweden Democrats, there is never any money for increased child allowances, cheaper medicines, or structural reforms that could jump-start growth. But in some magical way, there is always money to lower taxes for the very richest, and it is even done with borrowed money.

Mr. Speaker! According to the clock, I have spoken for approximately one minute. In that time, the government has borrowed nearly 200,000 kronor. The government has borrowed 200,000 kronor every minute around the clock since it took office. The decisive question is what the money is used for, because while the government has borrowed enormous sums, it has, as mentioned, lowered taxes for those with the highest incomes while welfare has had to take a backseat and unemployment has been allowed to run away. Future generations will have to pay the bill. It is not an economic policy that takes responsibility, and it is definitely not an economic policy that creates faith in the future.

Mr. Speaker! In addition to what I have already mentioned, I want to emphasize that the record-high unemployment that this government's misguided economic policy has led to is an enormous waste. It is a waste not only in the form of lost tax revenues and higher public expenditures but, above all, in the form of lost opportunities for people.

At the same time, Arbetsförmedlingen is sending billions back to the government. And money that was supposed to go to the transition study support (omställningsstudiestödet) has not been able to be used, because the government has not given CSN sufficient resources to handle the applications.

All this is a huge failure, especially considering what Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson himself said before the last election. He said that a government should be judged on the control question of whether more people have come into work and whether more people can support themselves. What does the Finance Minister answer to that question today? Does the Finance Minister think the government has passed the control question when around 100,000 more have become unemployed since the government took office?

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Edward Riedl (M)

Mr. Speaker! Let me begin by saying that the question of waste of tax money is important – I will return to it. But it is noticeable that we are in an election campaign; allegations are raining down. A good deal of them are simply not correct. I thought I would talk a bit about the costly tax cuts that the Social Democrats in here are horrified by, a bit about the national debt, and perhaps some about unemployment.

If we start with the costly tax cuts that the Social Democrats are horrified by, it is therefore about the fact that we, the Moderate-led government, have lowered the tax for wage earners and pensioners. In connection with structural reforms, we have lowered the tax on savings, which will build Sweden strong for the future. We have lowered the tax on gasoline and diesel, which facilitates things for incredibly many people in our long country. We have also lowered the tax on electricity, which is important. We have lowered the tax on food. All of this has resulted in people having it a bit better. That is what the Social Democrats are horrified by.

Mr. Speaker! Let me return to the national debt, because there are quite a few inaccuracies from the Social Democrats. The national debt is lower today than when the Social Democrats passed their last state budget. That is a fact; that is how it stands. Despite that, they try to claim the opposite and rewrite history.

Sweden has higher growth than most other countries in Europe. We have gone from the bottom of the league when the Social Democrats were in power to once again belonging to the top tier. Unemployment according to Arbetsförmedlingen is lower. It is certainly possible to find individual figures that allow one to claim something else, but this is what Arbetsförmedlingen says. It means that we have 110,000 more taxpayers in Sweden – higher tax revenues.

Those who like facts can go in and see how much the tax revenues have grown under this government. From 2,300 billion in the last Social Democratic budget, the tax revenues have now grown to 2,800 billion. That is 500 billion more every year to invest in Sweden to develop Sweden – to invest in the police and the justice system, in expanding the defense, and on more hands in welfare. Those are good things for Sweden.

We have also been able to use these funds to lower taxes and make things easier for people. Growth is therefore the key for people to have it better.

Let me stop at the national debt. I have had the privilege of sitting in negotiations for the Moderaterna regarding the defense agreement and the economic framework. We have talked about Ukraine together, and I am glad that we have been able to reach an agreement on these issues in broad consensus. But in every negotiation, the red-green parties, individually or together, have wanted to borrow more money – more money for defense and more money regarding the economic framework. They have wanted to borrow more money for Ukraine. Had the red-green parties gotten what they wanted, the national debt would actually have been higher than when the Socialdemokraterna ruled themselves. But now it is not so, thank goodness!

Mr. Speaker! Waste of tax money is many things. I will return to that a bit more in my second speech. But let me state that it ranges from deliberate fraud – where criminals steal from our common welfare systems – to the misuse of funds. I will come back to this, because the Social Democrats have a very poor track record while this government has come a good way in this regard. But I will have to take that in my second speech.

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Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Eva Lindh, for this interpellation! One can certainly congratulate the Social Democrats on a newly acquired interest in waste of tax money. But the challenge is that it perhaps sounds a bit false in relation to the policy they themselves have implemented and now also want to implement.

I want, Mr. Speaker, to begin by stating that Sweden has been in a recession. Admittedly, the recovery is here, properly. One reason for that is that the government, in connection with the energy crisis in the Middle East, has been very active and quick in protecting Swedish households and the Swedish economy.

But I hear time and again that people talk about the deficit that we have right now and that all parties here in the Riksdag actually have. It is one thing I find very strange: that one cannot say it as it is. I like it when people say it as it is and when they are honest and say what they want to do.

I am honest. We have a security policy situation that is worse than it has been in a very long time. We have a situation, both in Sweden and with the war in Ukraine, that means we must build Sweden strong. I therefore want to pose the question back to Eva Lindh: Is it the support for Ukraine that Eva Lindh thinks is a waste of taxpayers' money? Is it the defense money, when we are building a strong defense, that is a waste of taxpayers' money? Is it money for infrastructure that Eva Lindh thinks is a waste of taxpayers' money? Or is it the support for households?

All this together is what this government is doing, and it is also about the spring cleaning, as I mentioned: to clear up and tackle the big problems and ensure that tax money is freed up. I would like to assert that not a single Social Democratic finance minister in at least 30 years has been able to prioritize in the way I have – 50 billion during one parliamentary term.

Sweden faces great challenges, and if we are to both protect and strengthen the Swedish people and our country's borders and also ensure that the economy grows, we must ensure that the tax system works so that it encourages work and entrepreneurship but also, of course, that every tax krona is used in the best way. Therefore, I have reprioritized.

This is not the Social Democrats' strongest branch. We see only here in Stockholm – it is good to remind oneself, barely five weeks before the election – that the Social Democrats have raised the tax, even twice, because one cannot manage to prioritize. So it can still be said that one might have to clear out a bit in front of one's own door.

The positive thing about all this is that we still have strong public finances. The national debt is lower now than when Magdalena Andersson left the job that I have. We can support Ukraine. We can build a strong defense without borrowing ourselves up to the rafters. This is because we have order and clarity. It is because four parties have decided what is most important, namely to make Sweden safer and stronger and also, of course, to ensure that economic security prevails for people.

This issue of faith in the future is a good question to raise. For me, faith in the future is that we show that Sweden has fantastic opportunities – that one as a young person, for example through improved savings and investments in ISK, should be able to imagine and dream of being able to live in the little house, the small house. Faith in the future is knowing that Sweden has so many opportunities. We will do everything we can so that companies will stay and operate here and not be scared out of the country.

Every person living in Sweden must ask themselves: Can I afford a red-green government?

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! There is an enormous amount to comment on here, but I actually did not intend to do so. Edward Riedl excels in fear propaganda regarding Social Democratic policy that I don't even think is worth commenting on, and in a different description of reality and different facts than most have. That, therefore, I did not intend to say anything about.

We have agreed to lend, for example, to Ukraine. We stand behind the agreements that we have made. But there is an incredibly crucial difference between lending for something that strengthens Sweden in the long term and lending for measures that are temporary or for tax cuts that do not solve the structural problems. That is exactly what this government has done. And one shows their diminished credibility and their diminished responsibility for economic policy by saying that the money is finished while, only during this election campaign, one has put forward promises of 200 billion in new initiatives without being able to present a financing for them. It is actually astonishing.

But back to what my interpellation is actually about, tackling the waste of tax money. This is not something new for the Social Democrats. That was exactly why I read out the quote that every wasted tax krona is a theft from the people.

It is classic Social Democratic policy. We stand for a strong society, but we also stand for order and discipline. In that regard, this is important. We have and will have order and discipline in the public finances.

We want to stop the pursuit of profit in welfare. I want to dwell a little on this. Here it seems that the government does not want order and clarity, and one also seems to have ideological blinkers. Tax money that is set aside for the school shall go to the school – not to unlimited profit withdrawals.

We go to the election to ban profits in schools and preschools and to stop the overcompensation to independent schools. These are funds that could make a concrete difference in welfare. Here we must stop the outflow of resources, but we hear nothing about this. That was the second point.

The third point is about choking the criminal economy. It is no longer a side issue. With every passing year, we get more facts on the table. The criminal economy is the engine that feeds the gangs. If criminals can earn money from our welfare systems, we must close that possibility.

In area after area, we see that this government has allowed this to continue. It has been allowed to continue within home care and in HVB-activities that are even run by criminally organized groups. Health centers and other companies are being used as tools for crime.

Not all companies are, of course, criminal. We have an enormous number of good entrepreneurs who are serious. But most within organized crime are now running companies. This must be seen and something must be done about it. An ESO report has estimated the criminal economy to be hundreds of billions of kronor per year.

At the same time, there are people who go to work every day and do the right thing. They pay taxes and expect society to do its part. We must stop the waste of tax money, and I wonder if the Finance Minister is prepared to do something to stop it in all areas.

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Aida Birinxhiku (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Finance, for the answer! There is very much that I would like to comment on, but first I must say something about the school.

How can the Minister for Finance speak about responsible management of tax money when tax money disappears from Swedish schools every day? Tax money that should go to students and teachers disappears instead in profit withdrawals. Sweden is virtually alone in the world in allowing unlimited profit withdrawals from tax-funded schools.

We must stop both the profit-seeking occurring in schools and the overcompensation occurring to independent schools. This government has done nothing about it. Just the overcompensation to independent schools costs nearly 3 billion every year. For that money, one could hire 3,000 more teachers in primary school.

If the Minister for Finance is serious about putting a stop to the waste of taxpayers' money, then ensure that the taxpayers' money that is to go to the school also stays in the school!

Mr. Speaker! I do not have much speaking time left, but no matter how you turn and twist it, I am forced to conclude that four times out of four when the Moderaterna have governed Sweden, they have failed with the jobs and growth, and they have left behind weak public finances. This is not faith in the future. That is what I would like the voters in Halland and in the whole country to take with them when they make their choice on September 13.

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Edward Riedl (M)

Mr. Speaker! Despite the fact that Arbetsförmedlingen states that unemployment is lower, that we have more taxpayers and that we have higher tax revenues, the Social Democrats are trying to assert something completely different.

Let us for a moment pretend that the Social Democrats are right, that their talking points would hold up. In what way will there be more jobs in the Swedish economy if the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and the Left Party are allowed to make it more expensive to hire? If they are allowed to place additional burdens on Swedish companies, in what way would that lead to more jobs?

Don't fall for the Social Democrats' bluff! They are wrong about unemployment, and they are wrong about how to create more jobs. There won't be more jobs if you make it more expensive to hire.

When it comes to the waste of tax money – let me come back to that – I can state that when the Social Democrats themselves get to decide, they prefer to hire bureaucrats rather than healthcare staff in healthcare. Here in the Riksdag, they would rather raise the tax for nurses and other healthcare staff than lower it, as we Moderates want.

We have implemented ten job tax credits during the 2000s with center-right governments, some times also with the support of the opposition. Every single time, the Social Democrats have voted no to lower taxes for Swedish healthcare personnel.

When criminals steal from the welfare state – that was the first thing the Social Democrats did when they were given the opportunity to present a budget last term, which was to cut back on the police. So, you don't push back the gangs. So, you don't tackle the criminal economy.

I do not have time to list all the examples, but let me state once again: If you want order and tidiness instead of waste of tax money, the Moderaterna are a much better choice than the Socialdemokraterna, because we show time and again that we can do this.

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Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I fundamentally appreciate that Eva Lindh raises the issue of waste of tax money. For me, this is not just – "just" in quotation marks – an economic issue, but it is also a matter of morality. It is also about respect for all the people who work, pay taxes, run businesses, or are employed. They naturally expect that the state, as well as municipalities and regions, should use the paid tax funds in a responsible manner. That is exactly what I think.

Perhaps there is a difference when it comes to how one views this, that it is someone who has earned the money. It is not the state that owns the taxes, but it is people and companies that create value. The one who goes to work in the morning – whether one is employed or runs a company – should know that we do not collect more tax than is required and that we also use every krona correctly.

That is why it becomes somewhat contradictory when the Social Democrats on the one hand speak about stopping waste of tax money and on the other hand simultaneously gladly and often raise taxes for completely ordinary people, for example as has been done here in Stockholm during the past years.

When it really matters – when difficult decisions must be made and important investments are to be made – the Social Democrats often see tax increases as the solution.

One can ask me: Are you not being unfair now? No, I am not, even though I am answering my own question.

During the previous parliamentary term, it was actually just so: Taxes were raised and new ones were added. In total, 46 changes were made that led to taxes becoming higher. The Social Democrats say one thing but do something completely different.

Something else that is deeply troubling is what I actually think is the greatest waste of tax money that has occurred in modern times. I am talking about the decommissioning of two functioning nuclear reactors. It is capital destruction of the worst kind. When we now build new nuclear power, the needs are not the same as if these reactors had been allowed to remain. It is not taking responsibility for the tax money, just as it is not taking responsibility when one always raises a tax as soon as something needs to be financed.

Then we are once again at the door that says "September 14". If one opens it and the red-green side has won, what is it then that is at stake when it comes to taxes and waste of tax money? Miljöpartiet and Vänstern are at least honest about their politics. They want to raise taxes. They want to raise fuel prices. And Daniel Helldén, Miljöpartiet, was very clear that he wants to increase immigration. All of this leads to increased costs that will be paid by someone.

There are also clear gaps in the financing for many of the four parties. One presents a general financing somewhat loosely without having details, instead of doing as the Moderaterna. We have presented a comprehensive plan that allows us to continue the path that we have begun.

Finally: Are the funds exhausted? No, really not! Every year a reform space arises. This reform space arises because economic growth causes tax revenues to usually – almost always – increase faster than expenditures. Then a space arises that is negotiated over. But all of us in this chamber are in agreement that the large investments ahead in infrastructure, defense, and many other important things shall continue. That is why I say that everything beyond that must be financed, and that is also what we have presented proposals for.

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! Further remarks are used here to say things about Social Democratic policy that are not correct – or about reality that is not correct.

It is not about a lack of honesty, Finance Minister. It is about the fact that I believe the Social Democrats know more about their own policy than the Moderates, who are making it up.

This is about waste of tax money. If billions can continue to leak out of our state treasury and if criminals can build companies around our welfare systems, then a government should act. Everything else is shameful. Then the systems must be changed. If the school's money can be converted into profits while teachers and students receive fewer resources, then the rules must be changed. That is how we put the taxpayers and Sweden first.

In my attempt here to talk about waste of tax money and what the government actually intends to do, I am talking about the large sums of money. In that case, I haven't even had time to talk about the procurements, where money also disappears into some fraud and we must change some rules. I haven't talked about how one can most effectively use time in the welfare sector. But I am talking about welfare money that can end up with criminals. I am talking about public procurements where unscrupulous companies can compete through fraud and about the independent school system where tax money can become private profits. It is here that the real waste exists.

At the same time, we have a government that borrows large sums of money and leaves behind very large deficits. The government has made completely different priorities. I hope that the voters see this difference and vote for a party that takes Sweden and the Swedish economy seriously.

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Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thanks, again, to Eva Lindh for an important discussion on taxes!

I can state that it is this government that has ensured that we now have a payment authority in place to tackle fraud.

I can state that this government has enacted many new laws and given the authorities tools to cooperate in order to powerfully tackle what Eva Lindh is referring to, that is, that the money is used in the criminal economy. They grow there; that is absolutely correct. We have shown an incredibly high pace in doing that.

I can also state that it is under this government that we will soon appoint a waste commission, which will work on how state expenditures can be reduced. A proper review of this shall be conducted.

It is this government that will continue this work during the next mandate period, if we are given the opportunity, and truly ensure that we do not levy higher taxes than are necessary but also tackle all types of tax evasion and waste of tax money.

One must know that what we are doing with Sweden now is that we are building Sweden stronger. We have been able to double the money for defense, we have been able to strengthen the justice system and we have strengthened the Swedes' economy in a very tough time.

On the other side stand other parties that have slightly different views on both how high the taxes should be and how they should be used, and not everyone on the other side is perhaps quite as engaged in finding tax waste.

The work we are starting now, I would like to continue. It will ensure that we reach more money that actually does not do any good out there. I have found, four years into this job, that there are quite a few things that have been done that do not need to be done at all. I can look the voters in the eye and say: We have tackled waste of taxpayers' money, but there is much left to do.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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