According to The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority The state’s tax revenue, in 2023, amounted to SEK 1,649 billion, which meant an increase of approximately SEK 52 billion compared to the year before.
Above all, it was increased direct as well as indirect taxes on work that gave rise to the increase in income.
Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT
But large parts of the revenue also come from other types of taxes, including so-called excise taxes, which are found, for example, on alcohol and tobacco.
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Excise taxes are special consumption taxes that apply to certain goods and services selected by the government. Even if they bring income to the state, they have usually been introduced for other reasons, for example to steer consumption in a direction that is believed to have a positive effect on society.
The oldest excise taxes in Sweden are those on alcohol, tobacco and energy.
Source: Tax Agency
The flight tax will be abolished in 2025
Excise duty is also found in the energy and environment category. In 2018, for example, the previous government, led by the Social Democrats’ Magdalena Andersson, introduced an air tax. This is to reduce the climate impact of air traffic.
But in September 2024, it was clear that the Tidö parties would abolish the flight tax, citing that it negatively affected Sweden’s competitiveness.
– The flight tax puts many companies at risk of closing because flight routes disappear, said the Minister of Energy and Industry Ebba Busch (KD) to SVT News when.
The flight tax is to be abolished on 1 July 2025.
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Ebba Busch (KD). Photo: Johan Nilsson/TTPhoto: Janerik Henriksson/TT
But the flight tax is not the only tax to be abolished in the near future. Already on 1 November, the plastic bag tax, which was introduced on 1 May 2020 to achieve the EU’s consumption target for plastic carrier bags, will also be abolished.
The decision was already made last autumn.
“In the last two years, however, the consumption of thin plastic carrier bags in Sweden has been below 20 plastic carrier bags per person per year. The consumption is thus far below the EU’s consumption target of a maximum of 40 thin plastic carrier bags per person per year,” the government wrote in a press release then, which continued further:
“Against this background, the government assesses that the EU’s consumption target will be achieved even without a tax on plastic carrier bags, and therefore proposes that it be abolished. The tax is assessed to have certain negative effects, such as administrative costs and may also lead to increased consumption of other alternatives.”
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Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/TTHåll Sweden Clean: Use the plastic bag several times
When News24 asks Johanna RagnartzCEO of Håll Sverige Rent, which is a non-profit independent foundation that works for less littering, about how they see the abolition of the plastic bag tax, she states that they do not advocate any method of action over another.
– However, we are very keen that the reduction that has taken place and means that Sweden meets the target by a wide margin does not disappear, and that we return to an unsustainable consumption of plastic bags again.
What could the consequences be, according to you, with the scrapped tax?
– The risk is that we lose the profits that came with the space bag tax and that use increases again, with littering as a result. It is about enormous volumes and with a consumption of 176 million plastic bags every year, it is enough that one percent “holds” and the addition to our nature is 1.7 million bags, she answers.
Johanna Ragnartz. Photo: Emma Grann/Keep Sweden Clean
According to Keep Sweden Clean, Swedes can expect to save a few kroner when the plastic bag tax is abolished. But at the same time, private individuals are urged to continue to review their consumption of the bags.
– Refrain from shopping when possible, for example by using a backpack or reusable bag instead. The best bag is the one that is used several times. Many people use the plastic carrier bags for their household waste, where it is better to use the thinner plastic bags that can be bought on a roll because less plastic is used for these. Most importantly, never litter.
Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TTV What will a plastic bag cost when the tax is abolished?
Exactly how much a plastic bag will cost when the plastic bag tax is abolished on November 1 is still somewhat unclear.
“Most people state that they will reduce the price corresponding to the tax reduction, but the plastic bag will not necessarily be much cheaper than a paper bag. At Willys, this means that the price will be reduced from SEK 6.90 to SEK 3.90 – the same price as a paper bag. Other chains also have paper bags that are about the same price as the plastic ones,” reads an article from TT, which has been in contact with several store chains.
READ MORE: Increased demand for plastic bags is expected – the tax will be abolished