Businesses press Centre Party to reject tax and labour proposals

Businesses and business organisations are urging Sweden’s Centre Party to resist tax increases and labour-policy proposals from other parties seeking to form a government with Magdalena Andersson as prime minister, SVT reports.

Johan Andersson, head of the Mellby Gård business group, said he hoped the Centre Party would be a tough negotiator. “I believe in the Centre Party, and I believe and hope they will be tough in the negotiations,” he told SVT’s Agenda.

Magnus Demervall, chief executive of the business organisation Företagarna, said he was concerned about higher taxes and new levies that could make it harder for companies to build capital and secure financing. Proposals to abolish the sickness-benefit qualifying deduction and legislate for shorter working hours would add up to “a toxic cocktail”, he said.

Andersson has also written an opinion article seeking to influence the Centre Party. He said he wanted to encourage it to stand by its values and business-friendly policies. Asked whether he was speaking in his own interests, he said he was partly doing so, but added that Mellby Gård’s subsidiaries employ 7,000 people across several industries.

The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has also presented its requests directly to Centre Party secretary Hannes Hervieu. Its chief executive, Daniella Waldfogel, said the priority was to oppose tax proposals including a billionaire tax, a corporate tax, a bank tax and an exit tax. Hervieu did not say which issues the party would prioritise in government negotiations.

The parties differ on several economic policies. The Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party support higher taxes on top incomes, while the Left and Green parties also propose a billionaire tax. The Centre Party wants to cut taxes on work and business, as well as employer contributions.

The Social Democrats, Left Party and Green Party want to abolish the sickness-benefit qualifying deduction; the Centre Party wants to retain it. The Left Party proposes legislating for a shorter working week with unchanged pay if labour-market partners cannot agree, while the Green Party wants to move towards a four-day week. The Centre Party says working hours should be decided by labour-market partners.

On welfare profits, the Left Party wants to stop all profit withdrawals. The Social Democrats and Green Party propose banning profits in schools and preschools. The Centre Party supports private providers but wants to stop dividends when quality requirements are not met.