Denmark has lowered the tax burden in 2010, the marginal tax rate has been lowered from 62.3 percent to the current 55.4 percent and thus Sweden receives the first place with 56.7 percent.
A figure that does not take into account the different Swedish municipal tax rates, which means that there are municipalities where the result is a bit over 60 percent.
The reduced tax burden in Denmark originates from the fact that Denmark has set a target in 2015 to become the number one country in the world to promote high-growth companies, a goal which will compete with the United States. The Danish implemented tax reform is one step in the right direction to achieve this vision.
Sweden is now number one in the world ranking of marginal taxation, and if we compare with some other countries, it looks as follows:
- Great Britain 40 percent
- Germany 45 percent
- China 45 percent
- Norway 40 percent
- France 40 percent
- South Africa 40 percent
- Finland 30.5 percent
In other words, there are much lower marginal tax rates in countries that compete with us on the global market and start-ups that generate jobs.
This will obviously affect the Swedish future negatively. Because if we value the knowledge, training, driving force and that it should be worthwhile to work, then Sweden is the wrong country and many well-educated young Swedes choose other countries today.
As well as Sweden continues to punish ambitious individuals the country has also ensured that our payroll taxes are high, with 31.42 percent on top of the gross salary. It does not require a rocket scientist to understand that the cost, risk and responsibility for Swedish companies to hire employees becomes unreasonable.
As an entrepreneur, choosing the right country for the production of services and products is extremely profitable and probably most companies will select an attractive country for their establishment. Why not Denmark with its goals and visions? This supports the EU regulations that advocate free trade establishments, products and services.
How will this affect Sweden and what does the different placements within taxation mean?
One clear result is that Sweden drops in the prosperity league, and the country will be heavily affected. In fact Sweden will lose competitiveness in correlation with all OECD countries.
Ekonomifakta reports that between 2006-2009, if we look at the manufacturing industry, the unit labor cost in Sweden increased by 27 percent compared with the EU average of 9 percent.
This is a trend that will not be sustainable in the long run. Furthermore, it will not help youth employment which was 29.1 percent during the month of January, another figure that is not great for Sweden.
Tony Harkén