What does this mean for the wage earners?
Everyone will get a tax cut, but those with low and middle incomes will get the highest percentage. At the same time, the wage earners who would have had the strata limit calculated are affected by the fact that they will have to pay state income tax, an announcement that came yesterday. In practice, therefore, the tax is raised for high-income earners, while the tax is lowered for low- and middle-income earners. The government will come back with exact tables, but says that for a family with a police officer and a nurse, it would mean reduced taxes by SEK 14,000 a year.
What is the purpose?
The idea is to do two things at the same time. The Tidö parties agree that it must never be more profitable to be unemployed at home than to work. Through this tax cut for low- and middle-income earners, they want to increase the incentive to take a job. At the same time, a subsidy ceiling is introduced for those who do not work, you do not want it to be possible to stack subsidies on top of each other. The government wants to get the unemployed started, especially people with foreign origins.
What does the opposition say?
The announcement yesterday of a pause in the calculation of the break-off point for state income tax next year was welcomed by several of the red-green parties. The Social Democrats also recently went out on their own and proposed a tax cut for what they call “ordinary people”, meaning low and middle income earners. It remains to be seen how critical the red-green parties will be, since the government has not shown the tables, but only some calculation examples. Both the Tidö parties and the Social Democrats essentially agree on both parts.
What role has the government’s cooperation party the Sweden Democrats had in this?
This comes after the Sweden Democrats publicly stated that it was the wrong priority to lower the tax for high income earners and not for low and middle income earners in practice. The party has clearly pursued this issue in the negotiation with the governing parties. Therefore, this can be considered a success for them.
What does this mean domestically for the government?
The red-green opposition has since last year’s budget criticized the government for favoring high income earners. By the Tidö parties now doing exactly what they have been criticized for, they succeed in disarming Magdalena Andersson and the opposition. One of their most frequently used arguments is removed.