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Sweden: Tax Authority joins competition watchdog agains financial tax proposal

 |  February 14, 2017

The Swedish Tax Authority has joined the opponents of a proposed tax on financial services, saying it would hit many more companies than intended and add to their regulatory burden, it said in a written statement to the finance ministry.

The Tax Authority joins the competition watchdog in rejecting the tax proposal and the central bank has also questioned it.

Sweden’s centre-left minority government has long sought to impose a financial services tax, saying the sector – which is exempt from value-added tax – should pay more to the state.

But critics say a tax would hit the country’s financial services industry, which is a major contributor to the economy and could push some financial firms to move jobs abroad.

The Tax Authority said the proposal would hit over 300,000 companies, far more than the around 10,000 registered financial firms, and would affect many companies not under-taxed.

Full Content: Daily Mail

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