Other VAT matters

The plan does not address VAT deductions for trotting and galop racing. The nearest principle is that the countryside should not be impoverished and that those who run their own business in competition with large corporations have the plan's sympathy. Based on that principle the plan weakly supports that conditions for these rural businesses are not worsened, while the party programme's animal welfare requirements set a framework for the activities.

• countryside should not be impoverisheddecisive»Oavsett var i landet vi bor så har vi ett gemensamt intresse av att landsbygden inte utarmas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Regardless of where in the country we live we have a common interest in the countryside not being impoverished.”
• sympathy for the small business person»Du som arbetar hårt inom ditt eget småföretag, i konkurrens med storbolag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“You who work hard within your own small business, in competition with large corporations.”
• conditions of animal husbandry»All djurhållning ska därför utgå från att djur är kännande varelser« (party programme ↗)“All animal husbandry should therefore be based on animals being sentient beings”

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 says nothing about VAT deduction in trotting and harness racing activities. Closest principle is that the whole country shall be able to live and develop, that all regions shall provide good conditions for work and enterprise, and that full employment is the overarching goal. Since the counter-proposal is motivated by jobs and enterprise in rural areas the plan lands derivatively in support, but the evidence is weak.

• the whole country shall livedecisive»Alla har ett gemensamt intresse av att hela landet kan leva och utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has a common interest in the whole country being able to live and develop.”
• good conditions in all regions»förutsättningar för arbete, företagande och studier samt erbjuda goda levnadsvillkor.« (party programme ↗)“conditions for work, enterprise and studies as well as offer good living conditions.”
• full employment»Full sysselsättning är det övergripande målet för den socialdemokratiska ekonomiska« (party programme ↗)“Full employment is the overarching goal of social democratic economic policy.”

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 address VAT deductions in harness racing and gallop racing. The closest principle is that taxes and fees shall be managed so that what is good for people and environment becomes cheap and what is harmful becomes expensive, and that animals have intrinsic value regardless of their usefulness to humans. A special tax relief for commercial horse racing does not follow from that principle, even though the plan cherishes small businesses in rural areas.

• steering taxesdecisive»Det som är bra för människor och miljö ska vara billigt, det som är dåligt ska vara dyrt och det som är alltför skadligt ska förbjudas.« (party programme ↗)“What is good for people and environment shall be cheap, what is bad shall be expensive, and what is too harmful shall be banned.”
• animals' intrinsic value»Alla djur har ett egenvärde oavsett deras nyttighet för människan.« (party programme ↗)“All animals have intrinsic value regardless of their usefulness to humans.”
• rural entrepreneurship»Det finns tiotusentals blomstrande småföretag runt om på landsbygden.« (party programme ↗)“There are tens of thousands of thriving small businesses around rural areas.”

The plan wants to strengthen the green industries' competitiveness and especially highlights entrepreneurship in sparsely and rural areas as a prerequisite for jobs there. A changed VAT interpretation that strikes hard against harness racing and trotting activities affects precisely such rural enterprises. The plan also wants to lower taxes on entrepreneurship and not contribute to tax increases that damage jobs, which supports the counter-proposal's demand, albeit on derived grounds.

• strengthened green industriesdecisive»Vi vill stärka de gröna näringarnas konkurrenskraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen the green industries' competitiveness.”
• entrepreneurship in rural areas»Det är viktigt för företagandet i våra gles- och landsbygder — såväl för de gröna näringarna som för den viktiga besöksnäringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important for entrepreneurship in our sparsely and rural areas — both for the green industries and for important tourism.”
• lower tax on entrepreneurship»Sänk skatten på jobb och företagande, särskilt för småföretag och egenföretagare. Det ska löna sig att driva företag och skapa jobb.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lower taxes on work and entrepreneurship, especially for small businesses and the self-employed. It should pay to run a business and create jobs.”
• no job-damaging tax increases»Det totala skattetrycket måste ner nästa mandatperiod. Vi kommer inte att medverka till några skattehöjningar som skadar jobben, det egna sparandet eller gör det dyrare att bo.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Total tax pressure must come down next election period. We will not contribute to any tax increases that damage jobs, personal savings, or make housing more expensive.”

The plan emphasizes that predictability in the state's actions strengthens individual security and requires a tax system that is as simple and transparent as possible. A suddenly changed VAT interpretation with major economic consequences for affected businesses goes against it. The plan also sees enterprise on rural land as a job-creating force that should not be disadvantaged by tax conditions.

• predictable tax rulesdecisive»När förutsägbarheten i statens agerande ökar stärks också den enskildes trygghet.« (party programme ↗)“When predictability in the state's actions increases, individual security is also strengthened.”
• simple tax system»Skattepolitiken ska gynna de välståndsbildande krafterna, vara så enkel och transparent som« (party programme ↗)“Tax policy shall favour the wealth-creating forces, be as simple and transparent as”
• equivalent conditions across the country»Företagandet i hela Sverige hämmas när skatten kan vara fem, sex eller sju kronor högre per hundralapp i glesbygd än i Stockholm.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Enterprise in all of Sweden is impeded when tax can be five, six or seven kronor higher per hundred in sparsely populated areas than in Stockholm.”
• enterprise creates jobs»Fler företagare och entreprenörer skapar fler jobb och mer välstånd.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More entrepreneurs and business owners create more jobs and more prosperity.”

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 that the rules the state sets up for businesses are long-term and that taxation follows established tax law principles such as equal treatment. A changed interpretation that suddenly removes the deduction right for trotting and galloping activities breaks that predictability. The programme also wants to facilitate differentiated rural business, which is precisely the businesses affected.

• long-term business rulesdecisive»Det är viktigt att de regler staten ställer upp för företagen är långsiktiga.« (party programme ↗)“It is important that the rules the state sets up for businesses are long-term.”
• equal treatment in taxation»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”
• facilitate rural business»Även differentierat landsbygdsföretagande ska underlättas.« (party programme ↗)“Differentiated rural business shall also be facilitated.”
• simple tax rules»Det är dessutom viktigt att skattereglerna utformas så enkelt som möjligt för att därigenom underlätta för bland annat småföretagsamhet.« (party programme ↗)“It is also important that tax rules are designed as simply as possible to thereby facilitate, among other things, small business.”

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 promises a tax increase cap which means that total taxes are not raised, and that tax rules should become simpler and more predictable for businesses. A changed VAT interpretation that increases costs for harness racing and gallop racing operates in the opposite direction and hits entrepreneurship outside major cities, where the plan explicitly wants it to be possible to live and work. Ensuring continued deductibility thus aligns with the plan.

• 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”
• predictable tax rules»Ska det ske måste skattesystemet bli enklare, och bolags-, kunskaps- och kapitalskatter vara konkurrenskraftiga och uppmuntra till investeringar i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If that happens, the tax system must become simpler, and corporate, knowledge and capital taxes must be competitive and encourage investment in Sweden.”
• entrepreneurship across the country»Moderaterna vill ta vara på hela Sveriges möjligheter. Men ska det gå att bo och verka i hela Sverige måste också hela Sverige fungera.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderate Party wants to utilize all of Sweden's opportunities. But for it to be possible to live and work across Sweden, all of Sweden must function.”

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 wants to harness the value of rural areas and make it easier to create more businesses and jobs there, and keep taxes at a level that does not hamper Swedish businesses. The counter-proposal's demand that trotting and galloping activities can continue to deduct VAT protects precisely such rural businesses from a costly reinterpretation. The plan therefore supports the demand.

• more jobs in rural areasdecisive»Sverige behöver en politik som tar till vara värdet ute i landsbygden och som gör det enklare att i kombination med en väl avvägd miljöhänsyn att skapa fler verksamheter, jobb och ökad tillväxt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs a policy that harnesses the value of rural areas and makes it easier, in combination with well-considered environmental consideration, to create more businesses, jobs and increased growth.”
• business across the country»Underlätta för industri och näringsliv i hela landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Facilitate industry and business across the country”
• taxes that do not hamper business»Ha skatter på en nivå som inte hämmar svenska företag i den internationella konkurrensen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Have taxes at a level that does not hamper Swedish businesses in international competition”
• rural areas' own conditions»Landsbygden finns i första hand till för de människor som bor och verkar här och inte för att storstadsborna ska ha någonstans att vistas på semestern eller som en tillflyktsort för människor som tröttnat på den urbana kulturen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Rural areas exist primarily for the people who live and work here and not so that city dwellers have somewhere to stay on holiday or as a refuge for people tired of urban culture.”

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.