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PublicationWorking paper

Working Paper No. 39. Förmögenhetsskatten som symbol

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Abstract

Sverige är ett av ett fåtal länder inom OECD som fortfarande beskattar förmögenhet, dessutom betydligt hårdare än de flesta övriga länder med förmögenhetsskatt. Att avvika från andra länders beskattning av rörliga skattebaser – där kapital är den mest rörliga – kan få negativa konsekvenser på bl a sparande och tillgång på inhemskt kapital vilket i sin tur inte bara påverkar mängden genererade skatteintäkter utan även företagsklimat och ekonomisk tillväxttakt. Även om det kan finnas goda skäl att beskatta förmögenhet, bl a för att uppnå en jämnare förmögenhetsfördelning vilket i sin tur kan ha positiva effekter på investeringsnivån och tillväxttakten, får skatten ofta inte avsedda effekter i en global värld där de totala skatterna på kapital varierar mellan länderna. Mycket tyder på att den svenska förmögenhetsskatten istället har kommit att utgöra en viktig symbol för ett solidariskt skattesystem.

Hansson, Å. (2002). Förmögenhetsskatten som symbol. Ratio Working Paper No. 39.

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Author
Hansson, Å.
Publication year
2002
Published in

Ratio Working Paper


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Article (with peer review)

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

Hansson, Å., & Wernberg, J
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Publication year

2025

Published in

Palgrave Macmillan

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.

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