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STATE FINANCES.
237
assigned farms, maintain the national army. This process was decided upon in
1892 after a struggle of twenty-five years — in connection with a somewhat
prolonged period of training for those liable to military service — and was
practically completed by 1904. In connection with this step some changes were
made in the "allmänna bevillningen".1 This tax .was originally intended to form
a kind of supplementary sum in the Budget to fill up any deficit left by the
other sources of revenue; but in reality it became very strictly fettered, even in
its amount, owing, among other things, to the fact that the whole of the local
taxation was built upon it. This led from time to time to a special additional
"bevillning"; and when a graduated income tax was decided upon in 1902, that also
had to be treated as an addition to the "allmänna bevillningen". Finally in
1910, when the present progressive Income and Property Tax was instituted,
this "allmänna bevillning" — now called bevillning av fast egendom samt av
inkomst — lost all importance as a tax to the State, but nevertheless it could not
be abolished because of its connection with local taxation. The tax is now only
one-tenth of its original amount; and the entire proceeds are handed over by
the Treasury to the county councils and to those towns which are not represented
in the county councils.
"Allmänna bevillningen" is in part a tax on real property — based on a yield of
6 °/o or 5 % (the former in the case of agricultural property, the lesser amount
in the case of other property) of the rateable value of the property — and in
part a tax on income of any sort other than from real property. The tax begins
at an income of 500 kr. and is so far graduated that 450 kr. are deducted
on incomes of 500—1 200 kr. and 300 kr. are deducted on incomes of
1 200—1 800 kr.; according to particular circumstances the deductions may be
increased by 200 kr. or even in exceptional cases 400 kr., constituting a total
deduction of — at the outside — 650 and 850 kr. respectively on incomes of
500—1 200 kr. and 500 and 700 kr. respectively on incomes of 1 200 — 1 800
kr. All this still has an important bearing on local taxation.
Within the sphere of State taxation direct taxation has obtained greatly
increased importance and an entirely modern form through the Income and Property
Tax passed in 1910. This is a purely graduated tax based on the taxpayer’s
own declaration (självdeklaration). For private persons (Swedish subjects), the
tax begins at either an income of 800 kr. or a property of 6 000 kr., and it
ascends, for incomes under 6 000 kr., from 0’4 % to 2’2 \ of the assessed
amount. From 6 000 kr. upwards another scale of graduation is adopted, different
layers of the assessed income being taxed at different rates; in this way the
tax-percentage rises from 2’25 % to 5 %, which rate it attains at an assessed income
of 104 500 kr. As the scale thus proceeds from O’i % to 5 the largest
incomes are taxed 12 times as heavily as the smallest incomes — always
excepting the very smallest ones, which are quite exempt. Moreover, it is to be
observed that the recipient of a small income enjoys the advantage of several
abatements from the assessed amount — such as 100 kr. for every child, an
allowance up to 300 kr. in places where the cost of living is abnormally high,
and finally further sums in cases of exceptional distress. Finally we have the
Property Tax, or, as it also may be expressed, the "differentiation" of the income
Tax, throwing a heavier burden on "unearned" income. This comes into the
1 This literally means "General Subsidy or Grant": and shows many points of
resemblance to the mediaeval English "subsidy". But the word ubevillning" is never applied in
Swedish finance, as the corresponding word is often applied in other countries, to
expenditures, which are in Swedish called anslag ("votes" or "grants"). As has been
mentioned in the text, in Swedish public law there is a special group of taxes which bear the
common name of ’’bevillningar"; and one of these was called "allmänna bevillningen" and
is now called "bevillningen on real property and income".
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