Swedes abroad use tax deductions, which means that the state pays part of the labor costs for craftsmen, cleaners and other household-related services.
– I think it is wrong that Swedish tax money is used like this, says Kristina Gauthier Reberg to Sydsvenskan, who herself received a tax deduction when she renovated her apartment in Gran Canaria.
Pia Blank Thörnroos, tax lawyer at the Swedish Tax Agency, says that when the proposal was introduced some time ago, the politicians had a long debate about whether the deductions should only apply to housing in Sweden.
“But there were fears that Sweden would be accused of putting obstacles in the way of the free movement of goods and services within the EU,” she says.
Last year, the Swedish Tax Agency paid out SEK 16.8 billion as a tax reduction for housework, according to Sydsvenska. Only 2 percent of that money was paid out to Swedes living abroad.