Party-political lotteries should not be exempted from gambling tax

The documents do not address gambling tax or parties' financing. The nearest principle is that the democratic infrastructure, with strong and independent grassroots movements and a diversity of channels for opinion formation, needs good and secured conditions. Based on that principle the plan speaks against just the parties' non-profit activities being specially regulated, but the conclusion is entirely derived.

• free opinion formationdecisive»Det behövs en mångfald av kanaler för information, nyheter, åsikts« (party programme ↗)“There needs to be a diversity of channels for information, news, opinion”
• secured conditions for grassroots movements»Vi driver på för villkor som säkrar en stark« (party programme ↗)“We push for conditions that secure strong”
• foundations of democracy»Några av den politiska demokratins viktigaste byggstenar« (party programme ↗)“Some of political democracy's most important building blocks”

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 is based on a legal order with equality before the law for all and views broad participation in democracy far beyond the right to vote as a strength, while it describes declining party membership as a democratic problem. This argues against specifically regulating party-political lotteries separately for tax purposes and for the issue to be handled collectively for all public benefit activities. The plan does not address gambling tax, hence the derived funding.

• no special regulationdecisive»En rättsordning som bygger på allas likhet inför lagen.« (party programme ↗)“A legal order based on equality before the law for all.”
• broad democratic participation»Delaktighet i demokratin, där många är engagerade långt utöver att utöva sin rösträtt, är en styrka för varje land.« (party programme ↗)“Participation in democracy, where many are engaged far beyond exercising their right to vote, is a strength for every country.”
• weaker party organizations»Antalet medlemmar i svenska politiska partier har minskat, samtidigt som valdeltagandet gått ned i socioekonomiskt eftersatta områden.« (party programme ↗)“The number of members in Swedish political parties has declined, while voting turnout has fallen in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.”
• vital civic movements»Livskraftiga folkrörelser för att hålla ihop samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Vital civic movements to hold society together.”

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 take a position on gambling tax for political party lotteries. The closest principle is that freedom of expression and free public debate are invaluable, which argues that parties' advocacy work should not be specially regulated negatively compared to other public-interest activities. The plan's restrictive view on gambling points in the other direction, so the conclusion is uncertain.

• free public debatedecisive»Yttrandefriheten och den fria åsiktsbildningen är ovärderliga.« (party programme ↗)“Freedom of expression and free public debate are invaluable.”
• public-interest activities equal terms»Det civila samhället spelar en viktig roll för att hela landet ska leva. Föreningsliv och idéburna organisationer bidrar till socialt hållbara samhällen och stärkt livskvalitet hos unga och gamla.« (party programme ↗)“Civil society plays an important role for the whole country to flourish. Associational life and idea-driven organisations contribute to socially sustainable societies and strengthened quality of life for young and old.”
• restrictive gambling policy»Sexistisk reklam och reklam riktad mot barn under tolv år ska vara förbjudet, liksom reklam för spel och alkohol.« (party programme ↗)“Sexist advertising and advertising directed at children under twelve years shall be prohibited, as shall advertising for gambling and alcohol.”

The election manifesto wants to tighten rules for financing of political parties and make Sweden even more transparent. The counter-proposal wants instead to preserve a tax exemption that benefits parties' own financing, which goes against that commitment. The plan's principle of equal conditions certainly speaks for comprehensive regulation, but the decisive line is tightened rules for party financing.

• tightened rules for party financingdecisive»Reglerna för finansiering av politiska partier bör skärpas och deras motståndskraft mot yttre påverkan och infiltration rustas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Rules for financing of political parties should be tightened and their resistance to external influence and infiltration strengthened.”
• increased transparency»Sverige ska bli ännu mer transparent. Vi vill inrätta en antikorruptionsmyndighet, skärpa regler mot korruption och införa ett lobbyregister.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall become even more transparent. We want to establish an anti-corruption agency, tighten rules against corruption and introduce a lobby register.”
• openness against corruption»Öppenhet och transparens är grundförutsättningar för frihet, demokrati och för att förhindra korruption och övergrepp.« (party programme ↗)“Openness and transparency are fundamental prerequisites for freedom, democracy and to prevent corruption and abuse.”
• equal conditions»Fritt företagande, lika villkor och fri handel är avgörande för ett gott samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“Free enterprise, equal conditions and free trade are crucial for a good society.”

The plan requires that tax policy is as simple and transparent as possible and that uniformity in taxation increases, which argues for a gambling tax to be regulated uniformly for all non-profit activity rather than introduced only for one category. It also requires that laws and regulations protect competition on equal terms. The plan also protects citizens' political engagement as a prerequisite for democracy.

• simple and transparent taxationdecisive»Skattepolitiken ska gynna de välståndsbildande krafterna, vara så enkel och transparent som« (party programme ↗)“Tax policy shall support wealth-creating forces, be as simple and transparent as”
• uniform taxation»enhetligheten i kapitalinkomstbeskattningen öka« (party programme ↗)“uniformity in capital income taxation increase”
• equal conditions in the regulatory framework»slå vakt om äganderätt, konkurrens på lika villkor, rättssäkerhet« (party programme ↗)“protect property rights, competition on equal terms, legal security”
• protected political engagement»Demokratin förutsätter att medborgare vill och vågar engagera sig politiskt.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy presupposes that citizens want to and dare engage politically.”

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 requires that taxation is designed according to established tax law principles such as tax according to ability to pay and equal treatment, which argues against a single category of public benefit lotteries being specially regulated. That donations to non-profit organizations should be tax-exempt shows the same direction on favorable treatment of public benefit activities. The plan also emphasizes the parties' role in representative democracy and protection of free opinion formation.

• equal treatment in taxationdecisive»ska utformas enligt vedertagna skatterättsliga principer som skatt efter bärkraft och likabehandling« (party programme ↗)“shall be designed according to established tax law principles such as tax according to ability to pay and equal treatment”
• tax relief for public benefit»Gåvor till ideella organisationer bör vara skattebefriade.« (party programme ↗)“Donations to non-profit organizations should be tax-exempt.”
• free opinion formation»Ett starkt skydd för yttrande- och meddelarfriheten« (party programme ↗)“Strong protection for freedom of expression and freedom to communicate”
• equal conditions»övergripande ansvaret för att likvärdiga villkor ska gälla« (party programme ↗)“overarching responsibility for equal conditions shall apply”

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 counter-proposal does not want partisan lotteries to be subject to special regulation with gaming tax, but rather for the question to be handled collectively for all public-benefit activities. The plan's core tax commitment is a tax-increase cap which means that total taxes are not raised, with the reasoning that Sweden already has one of the world's highest tax burdens. The plan also requires that public exercise of authority is marked by equal treatment and predictability, which speaks against special regulation of a single category.

• tax-increase capdecisive»Införa ett skattehöjarstopp under den kommande mandatperioden som innebär att de samlade skatterna inte höjs« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a tax-increase cap during the coming term of office which means that total taxes are not raised”
• no new taxes(2022 manifesto)
• equal treatment and predictability»All offentlig maktutövning ska vara lagstyrd och vägledas av« (party programme ↗)“All public exercise of authority shall be governed by law and guided by”
• free public debate»Den fria åsiktsbildningen.« (party programme ↗)“Free public debate.”

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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 take a position on gambling tax, but it states that freedom of expression and freedom of opinion are democracy's foundations and that free opinion formation must be strengthened. The party programme is also based on equality before the law, which argues against special regulation of just party-political lotteries. The conclusion is derived and the foundation is weak.

• freedom of opinion as foundationdecisive»Yttrande-, åsikts- och informationsfriheterna är tre av demokratins grundpelare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and freedom of information are three of democracy's foundations.”
• equality before the law»att likhet inför lagen och allmän och lika rösträtt för medborgare skall råda« (party programme ↗)“that equality before the law and universal and equal voting rights for citizens shall prevail”
• free opinion formation in elections»att yttrandefrihet, tryckfrihet, mötesfrihet, föreningsfrihet och rättstrygghet är helt nödvändiga inslag« (party programme ↗)“that freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and legal security are entirely necessary components”
• free opinion formation»Stärka möjligheten till fri och värdeoberoende åsiktsbildning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the possibility for free and value-independent opinion formation”

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.