Temporary tax exemption for the benefit of charging at the workplace

Peder Björk (S)

Madam Speaker! A person who drives an electric vehicle to and from the workplace naturally needs to charge the vehicle at work sometimes. If the person does not pay market-rate compensation to their employer when the vehicle is charged, the charging is simply a taxable benefit.

Now, a temporary three-year tax exemption for the benefit of electricity for charging certain vehicles is proposed. In short, it is that proposal that we are now going to debate and which is included in the Committee on Taxation's report 18 Temporary tax exemption for benefit of charging at the workplace.

The possibility of tax exemption, however, presupposes a few things. First and foremost: that one actually has a job to go to. In a time when we see that the supply of skills is a major challenge in very many industries, the possibility of having a job should be great. But unfortunately, that possibility decreases significantly when the Sweden Democrats and the right-conservative government drastically cut the economic resources for education. Through that, many people risk being left in unemployment. The companies cannot develop, and people who want to change direction in the middle of life are not given that opportunity.

To this can be added the great risk of significant cuts in, for example, school and healthcare - this as a result of the Sweden Democrats and the bourgeois government refusing to listen to all the municipalities and regions that are now describing the economic crisis that the welfare system is in the midst of.

Madam Speaker! Tax exemption for charging electric vehicles at the workplace requires, in addition to a job, of course also that one has an electric vehicle to commute to work with. In the part of the country I come from, it is primarily cars that are used for commuting to work.

It is far from everyone who can afford to buy an electric car. And it is hardly more who have the economic possibility after the Sweden Democrats and the right-conservative government from one week to the next removed the electric car bonus. It is not the operating cost for an electric car that is the large cost, but it is actually the purchase cost.

But if tax exemption for charging at work, even in the small scale, can facilitate the transition to a more sustainable vehicle fleet and at the same time favor business trips with rechargeable vehicles over the less sustainable alternatives, it is welcome. It also does no harm that the proposal is expected to reduce the administrative burden for both the employer and the employee that follows from the fact that the benefit which is currently taxable must be reported.

Madam Speaker! Finally: If one seriously wants to transition to more sustainable transport for the vast majority, significantly more powerful measures are required than tax exemption for charging at work. It is now up to the Sverigedemokraterna and the right-conservative government to prove – are they prepared to work for it or not?

(Applause)

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

Eric Westroth (SD)

Madam Speaker! Today we are debating the Committee on Taxation's report 18 on a temporary tax exemption for the benefit of charging at the workplace.

Sweden today has a great need to facilitate the transition to a more electrified vehicle fleet. Part of this work is tax exemption for the benefit of charging at the workplace. This will also alleviate the administrative burden that follows from a benefit taxation.

The proposal means that if an employer offers employees the option to charge their electric or hybrid car, light truck, motorcycle, moped, bicycle, or electric scooter, the electricity provided by the employer from July 1 of this year until June 30, 2026, will not be a taxable benefit.

Madam Speaker! The replacement of the fossil-fueled vehicle fleet with an electrified one is in full swing. The proportion of rechargeable passenger cars is increasing sharply in Sweden. Of all new car sales during 2022, the proportion of rechargeable passenger cars was a full 56 percent, and at the turn of the year, over 450,000 rechargeable cars were rolling in Sweden. According to the latest statistics I could obtain, there are now 483,810 cars that are rechargeable in Sweden.

This exchange would naturally continue even without an exemption from benefit taxation of charging at the workplace, but in order to accelerate the proportion of chargeable vehicles by facilitating the possibility of this, this tax exemption can have a positive impact.

This applies in particular given that many used electric cars that are starting to get a few years on their backs are starting to drop in price to the extent that even persons and families with normal incomes could consider buying an electric car.

These slightly older cars have a more limited battery capacity than today's new electric cars. Add to that the fact that the battery capacity has dropped further after a few thousand miles of driving by previous owners. But with the possibility of charging at the workplace, even these slightly older electric cars get a doubled range during commuting compared to what they would have had without this possibility. Certainly, one could have charged the car at a public charging station on the way home from work, but consider then also that the older electric cars have a more limited possibility of receiving high charging powers. And who wants to sit for long periods and charge their electric car on the way home to the family from work?

The plug-in hybrids should also not be forgotten. It is perhaps not everyone who has the right conditions to have a pure electric car. They have instead bought a plug-in hybrid to be able to drive on electricity alone for at least shorter distances around the home. If one then has the possibility to charge one's plug-in hybrid at work, the range with only electric drive is significantly extended during the work commute. This could be an additional incentive to replace one's fossil fuel car with a more modern and environmentally friendly plug-in hybrid.

Madam Speaker! That the benefit taxation on charging is now temporarily removed also contributes to incentives for employers to offer an opportunity for employees to charge the electric car while they are working. If one also allows the installation of smart charging stations which, in addition to being used by employees, can be made available for public use for a fee - perhaps at times when the workplace is closed - the expansion of charging infrastructure is also accelerated.

Madam Speaker! In conclusion: The administrative work surrounding the benefit taxation of charging at the workplace has in many places been deterrent. While the value of the benefit has been relatively low, the employer must, through reporting systems, keep track of who has charged their vehicle, how much electricity they have charged, and what value of the electricity is to be taxed. This has involved a great administrative burden which has meant that many may have refrained from installing charging stations because they do not want the extra work that a benefit taxation has entailed.

If we can now remove this obstacle, albeit temporarily, we create better conditions for those who are willing to invest in charging stations and perhaps also, in the long run, with the help of smart chargers, develop smooth routines for the future.

Madam Speaker! The transition of Sweden's vehicle fleet is in full swing. The proposal is a step in the right direction, but more things must be done in parallel to ensure that we expand the production of Swedish, stable, weather-independent, and predictable energy production. Here, Swedish nuclear power has a central role to play in providing the possibility for the electrification that we all desire, not only for transport but for all processes that are now being electrified.

That when it is not windy, charging electric cars with electricity from oil-fired power plants in Sweden or with coal-powered electricity from abroad is not particularly smart, either for humans or for the environment. Despite this, we believe that this minor legislative change is cost-effective enough to contribute positively to facilitating the transition work.

I therefore move for the approval of the bill and the committee's proposal for a decision.

(Applause)

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

Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)

Madam Speaker! Tax exemption for the benefit of charging at the workplace may seem like a small issue, but it still affects quite a few people and may affect even more in the future; the member before me explained how many different electric cars and electric hybrid cars there are in today's Sweden.

In the government's work to strengthen the work line and find ways for more people to enter employment, this is also an important piece of the puzzle. Today, wage earners' margins are small, and sometimes they have high costs for commuting to work. Many have a long way to travel, and more want to come closer to their workplace. In many cases, this can be a barrier to taking a new job in another location. Therefore, it is important that one should be able to charge their electric vehicle at work without having to be subject to benefit taxation. With this proposal, work trips with electric vehicles are benefited, regardless of whether they are hybrid cars, electric cars, or other types of electric vehicles.

The government has a particular focus on trying to alleviate the regulatory burden and the red tape that exists for companies in today's Sweden and, to some extent, also for individuals. Therefore, this proposal is welcome. It means that the administrative costs for both individuals and for companies will decrease significantly. If we were to maintain a system with benefit taxation of electricity at the workplace, it would involve a multitude of different administrative tasks involving both collection, analysis, and calculations in order to be able to keep track of which costs should be subject to benefit taxation for the individual and which costs should fall on the company. We naturally want to avoid these large administrative costs for the companies and the large bureaucracy for the individual.

This government has a great focus on the transition from fossil-fueled vehicles to electric vehicles. It has been one of the main directions in the green transition. The proposal also favors the transition to a fossil-free vehicle fleet. In the future, the vehicle itself will probably not be the big question, but rather how and when we get competitive electricity. In that regard, the possibility of charging at the workplace is an important part.

Madam Speaker! The relatively small tax change that this entails does, however, support several important parts of the government's basic policy. With this proposal, we support the transition of the vehicle fleet to fossil-free, reduce red tape for both individuals and companies, and strengthen the work line by facilitating commuting.

With this, Madam Speaker, I move for approval of the committee's proposal.

(Applause)

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 31 May.)

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