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PublicationBook

Taxation in the Digital Era: Economic, Legal, and Policy Challenges

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Abstract

This open access edited volume discusses the impact of digitalization on taxation, using the Swedish welfare state model as a lens through which to examine the disruptive effect of new technologies on traditional tax models. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, it integrates perspectives from economics, law, audit, and public policy to shed light on contemporary challenges in taxation.

With Sweden as a central case study, the chapters in this book address broader concerns surrounding the impact of digital transformation on how states calculate and enforce tax, as well as the role of international coordination in reforming tax policy. The book covers many important topics such as financing public welfare, international attempts to combat issues concerning multinationals and consumption taxation, legitimacy and democratic implications, as well as how digitalization impacts firms’ and tax authorities’ tax administration. The effects of AI, automation and remote work are all considered, as well as how greater labor mobility is decreasing the emphasis on a geographical nexus for taxability and creating a need for urgent tax reform. Providing a diverse set of theoretical and policy considerations, this book will be essential reading for scholars, students and policymakers working in the spheres of tax law, the welfare state and public economics.

Hansson, Å., & Wernberg, J. (Eds.). (2025). Taxation in the digital era: Economic, legal, and policy challenges. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93365-3

Details

Author
Hansson, Å., & Wernberg, J
Publication year
2025
Published in

Palgrave Macmillan

Related

  • Bild av Joakim Wernberg, medarbetare på Ratio
    Ph.D.

    Joakim Wernberg

    joakim.wernberg@ratio.se
  • Bild av Åsa Hansson, medarbetare på Ratio
    Associate Professor

    Åsa Hansson

    asa.hansson@ratio.se

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Article (with peer review)

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Publication year

2026

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Abstract

Liquidity constraints are often seen as a barrier to entrepreneurship, with many relying on personal or informal capital to start a business. This paper examines whether increased access to equity — via rising value of owner-occupied housing — affects the likelihood of business entry. Using detailed Swedish tax return data and exploiting the 2008 property tax reform as a natural experiment, we analyze how changes in house prices influence entrepreneurial activity. While higher housing prices correlate with business ownership and entry, this relationship disappears when isolating the causal effect of the tax reform. These findings contrast earlier findings and suggest that the value of owner-occupied housing proxy for individual characteristics rather than easing liquidity constraints, indicating that such constraints are not a major barrier to entrepreneurship in Sweden.

Book

Taxation in the digital era: Economic, Legal, and Policy Challenges

Hansson, Å. & Wernberg, J.

Publication year

2026

Published in

Springer Nature

Abstract

This book is the result of a long-standing collaboration among tax scholars from various disciplines, all focusing on taxation and digitalization and recognizing the importance of addressing the societal challenges that digitalization poses on the tax system from several disciplines and by working closely together. The authors of this anthology take an academic approach to taxation and are deeply engaged in cross-disciplinary dialogue. There is an urgent need to produce and provide evidence-based knowledge to guide tax policy design in a time of technological advancements and fiscal and economic challenges. This need is further amplified by the increasing digitalization of economies, which demands data-driven tax policies to address complex issues such as dematerialized transactions, cross-border taxation, harmful tax competition, and compliance automation.

Book chapter

Digitalization and the Challenges to Finance Public Welfare: The Case of Sweden

Åsa Hansson
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Publication year

2025

Published in

Taxation in the Digital Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Abstract

The chapter analyzes how digitalization and globalization challenge states’ ability to tax income and thereby finance public welfare. As work, consumption, and value creation increasingly take place without geographical presence, the link between tax bases and national jurisdictions weakens. This applies both to multinational firms and to individuals with greater opportunities for remote work.

With a focus on Sweden, the chapter discusses how a tax system characterized by high taxes on labor, lower taxation of capital, and a decentralized welfare model may be particularly vulnerable. It highlights the need for adjustments to the tax system in order to maintain legitimacy, efficiency, and the financing of the welfare state in a digital economy.

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