Ullenhag (FP): The government’s payroll tax affects welfare – Swedish Radio

Ullenhag (FP): The government's payroll tax affects welfare – Swedish Radio

The government’s proposal to raise the cost of employing people over 65 years through a special payroll tax will cost local governments hundreds of millions of crowns. The Government believes that the increased costs will not affect other operations. But the Liberal Party’s economic policy-spokesperson, Erik Ullenhag disagree.

– This affects welfare. This is so that local governments do not receive any compensation for this tax increase, says Ullenhag.

When the government next year reintroduces a special payroll tax on those who work after 65 years, this will lead to increased costs to local governments totaling nearly 300 million dollars per year, the figures show that the Parliamentary Research Service, RUT, developed for the Liberal Party.

Payroll tax that will lie of 5.6 percent for those over 65 means it will be more expensive to hire them. According to RUT is over 60 000 people over 65 years working in local government. many are nurses, nurses and doctors.

But Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson does not believe that the increased salary costs for the elderly will affect local government finances.

– Municipalities will be the big winners in this budget and they will find that they receive substantial contributions next year for both schools, child care, elderly care and health care.

But they will not be as great as they had expected that you have said, because it will be other types of costs?

– You must also take into account other types of benefits that are not in these numbers, such as maintenance support may decrease when raise the roof in the UIF or to the far parenthesis in health insurance is taken away.

But Erik Ullenhag disagree and believe that it will affect the ability of other ventures.

– There are 200 million to municipalities and that’s half of the money that the government says that they are committed to reducing children’s groups. So you give with one hand and states that one should reduce children’s groups, but half of that money disappears in higher taxes on the elderly.

– The 100 million to counties equal to half of the money that the government talks a lot about; namely that children should get free drugs, says Erik Ullenhag.

My Rohwedder
my.rohwedder@sverigesradio.se