Tax rates etc.

The plan's tax line is that taxes should narrow gaps and that increases should target large capital assets and high incomes, not ordinary wage-earners' consumption. A harmonization of VAT rates means in practice that today's reduced rates are raised, which hits households with small margins. That the reduced cultural VAT is retained is not enough for the plan to support the review, but the basis is weak.

• raise tax on wealthdecisive»Vi vill inte höja skatten för vanliga löntagare utan på mångmiljonarv, lyxvillor och stora aktievinster som man inte ens behöver jobba för.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We do not want to raise taxes for ordinary wage-earners but for multi-millionaires, luxury villas and large capital gains that you don't even have to work for.”
• tax according to ability to pay»Vänsterpartiet har en skattepolitik som ser till vilka behov som finns och där de med stora kapitaltillgångar eller höga löner får bidra mer till välfärden än de gör idag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party has a tax policy that considers what needs exist and where those with large capital assets or high incomes contribute more to welfare than they do today.”
• taxes should narrow gaps»till att utjämna inkomst- och förmögenhetsklyftor« (party programme ↗)“to narrow income and wealth gaps”
• culture accessible to all»Kultur som konst, musik och film bidrar till att skapa ett rikare samhälle att leva i för alla.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Culture such as art, music and film helps create a richer society for everyone to live in.”

The plan's tax principle is simplicity and clarity in regulations and broad tax bases, which speaks for a review that reduces arbitrary distinctions between VAT rates. At the same time, the plan wants to make culture accessible to everyone regardless of income, which supports maintaining the reduced VAT rate for culture. The structure of VAT rates is not explicitly addressed, so the support is derived.

• simple rules and broad tax basesdecisive»Enkelhet och tydlighet i regelverket, breda skattebaser och att alla förvärvsinkomster och ersättningar beskattas lika är grundläggande principer.« (party programme ↗)“Simplicity and clarity in regulations, broad tax bases and that all income from work and compensation are taxed equally are fundamental principles.”
• culture accessible to everyone»Kulturpolitiken går ut på att göra konstens olika uttrycksformer tillgängliga för alla, barn och vuxna, i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“Cultural policy aims to make the different forms of artistic expression accessible to everyone, children and adults, throughout the country.”
• tax finances welfare»Skattesystemets viktigaste uppgift är att finansiera vår välfärd och nödvändiga framtidsinvesteringar.« (party programme ↗)“The tax system's most important task is to finance our welfare and necessary future investments.”
• vibrant cultural life»Sverige ska ha ett levande, fritt och obundet kulturliv som både stärker samhörigheten och utmanar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall have a vibrant, free and independent cultural life that both strengthens cohesion and challenges.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan uses VAT as a steering tool and wants to significantly lower VAT on car pools and other sharing services. The basic principle is that what is good for people and the environment should be cheap and what is harmful should be expensive, with powerful economic policy instruments. A review aimed at increased harmonization and uniform VAT rates would remove precisely the differentiation the plan is built on, and is therefore rejected on substance.

• reduced VAT as an environmental policy tooldecisive»sänka momsen kraftigt på bilpooler och andra delningstjänster och underlätta för de som vill dela, istället för äga, en bil.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“significantly lower VAT on car pools and other sharing services and make it easier for those who want to share, instead of owning, a car.”
• cheap for the environment, expensive for damage»Det som är bra för människor och miljö« (party programme ↗)“What is good for people and the environment”
• powerful economic policy instruments»Kraftfulla ekonomiska styrmedel är nödvändiga.« (party programme ↗)“Powerful economic policy instruments are necessary.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not speak about VAT rates, but requires competition-neutral regulations for business and that the regulatory jungle is cleaned up, which speaks for a review of today's illogical boundaries between similar goods and services. That the reduced cultural VAT is retained aligns with the plan's goal that everyone can participate in cultural life. At the same time, the plan promises no tax increases that harm jobs, which limits how a harmonisation can be shaped.

• competition-neutral regulationsdecisive»Viktigt är också att näringslivet får konkurrensneutrala regelverk« (party programme ↗)“It is also important that business receives competition-neutral regulations.”
• deregulation»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clean up the regulatory jungle for entrepreneurs, large and small.”
• culture accessible to all»Politiken ska fokusera på att skapa förutsättningar för alla att delta i kulturlivet.« (party programme ↗)“Policy should focus on creating conditions for everyone to participate in cultural life.”
• no harmful tax increases»Vi kommer inte att medverka till några skattehöjningar som skadar jobben, det egna sparandet eller gör det dyrare att bo.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We will not participate in any tax increases that harm jobs, private savings or make housing more expensive.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires a new comprehensive tax reform where tax policy is as simple and transparent as possible and where lower taxes are exchanged for higher consumption taxes. A review for increased harmonization of VAT rates, which removes illogical distinctions, is in line with this. Maintaining the reduced cultural VAT for now aligns with the plan's goal of increasing culture's accessibility for the entire population.

• simple and transparent tax systemdecisive»Skattepolitiken ska gynna de välståndsbildande krafterna, vara så enkel och transparent som möjligt« (party programme ↗)“Tax policy shall benefit wealth-creating forces, be as simple and transparent as possible”
• shift toward consumption taxes»Sänkta skatter ska växlas mot höjda« (party programme ↗)“Lower taxes shall be exchanged for higher”
• new tax reform»Därför behövs en ny genomgripande skattereform.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore a new comprehensive tax reform is needed.”
• culture's accessibility»öka kulturens tillgänglighet för hela« (party programme ↗)“increase culture's accessibility for everyone”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan speaks directly about the VAT structure: the level should in principle be general, which supports the counter-proposal's demand for a review to increase harmonization of VAT rates. The plan also requires that tax rules are designed as simply as possible, which argues against the distinctions today's exceptions create. Retaining the reduced cultural VAT for now is compatible with the plan's own reservation that exceptions may need to be made and with culture reaching citizens.

• general VAT leveldecisive»Nivån på mervärdesskatten bör i princip vara generell.« (party programme ↗)“The level of value added tax should in principle be general.”
• simple tax rules»är dessutom viktigt att skattereglerna utformas så enkelt som möjligt för att därigenom underlätta för bland« (party programme ↗)“it is also important that tax rules are designed as simply as possible in order to facilitate for among”
• exceptions may be needed»En hög generell nivå på momssatsen medför dock« (party programme ↗)“A high general VAT rate level does, however,”
• culture reaching citizens»ska inte bara garantera kulturell frihet, utan också aktivt bidra till att kulturen kommer medborgarna till« (party programme ↗)“shall not only guarantee cultural freedom, but also actively contribute to culture reaching citizens”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan does not address the structure of VAT rates. The nearest commitments are a tax increase ceiling and that the tax burden should not increase, and a harmonization toward the normal rate entails in practice raised VAT on what today is reduced. The plan's demand for a simpler tax system certainly speaks for the boundaries being reviewed, but that weighs lighter than the tax increase ceiling.

• tax increase ceilingdecisive»Införa ett skattehöjarstopp under den kommande mandatperioden som innebär att de samlade skatterna inte höjs« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a tax increase ceiling during the coming mandate period which means that total taxes are not raised”
• no higher tax burden(2022 manifesto)
• simpler tax system»Ska det ske måste skattesystemet bli enklare« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If it is to happen, the tax system must become simpler”

flags: citat_ej_verifierat

The plan does not address VAT rate structure. Most closely aligned commitments are that taxes shall be designed so they do not hinder Swedish companies, that better-designed taxes can in the long term increase tax revenue and that red tape shall be reduced. A review that clears up illogical boundaries aligns with that, and retaining reduced cultural VAT for now does not contradict the plan. The committee's reasoning about uniform VAT as a starting point is not addressed.

• competitive taxesdecisive»Ha skatter på en nivå som inte hämmar svenska företag i den internationella konkurrensen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Have taxes at a level that does not hinder Swedish companies in international competition”
• better-designed taxes»Sänkta eller bättre utformade skatter kommer i många fall att på sikt öka skatteintäkterna eftersom en sådan politik leder till ökad tillväxt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduced or better-designed taxes will in many cases increase tax revenue in the long term because such policy leads to increased growth.”
• regulatory simplification»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for regulatory simplification and relieve small businesses of administrative burden”