The government: the Era of tax cuts is over – the Swedish newspaper svenska Dagbladet

finance Minister Magdalena Andersson (S). Photo: Daniella Backlund

– Skattesänkareran is over in Swedish politics, ” says Magdalena Andersson (S) in respect of the audit office’s scrutiny of the government’s budget for 2017 and forecasts in the years thereafter.

She thinks at the same time that the authority will miss the government looks to get down the projections for the costs of migration, compared with the large increases which was predicted for only a few years ago, and that sjukförsäkringskostnaderna not growing at the same pace as earlier.

She mentions the airline tax and the bank as two examples of the taxes that the government is considering to meet the increased demands that arise in welfare. But the requirements must also be met through more efficient operations in the municipalities and, above all, the increase in employment. It determines if the municipalities have to resort to large tax increases or not, according to the minister of finance.

– It is all about how well we succeed with that, more and more will in the work, ” says Andersson.

the national audit office in its review of the government’s budget for the next year about the same assessment as the Swedish association of local authorities and regions (SALAR) did in their financial report recently. The municipalities need about 50 billion more by 2020 to keep pace as more is getting older, that many children are born and immigration is increasing.

– It is almost on the öret what we came up with, ” says SALAR’s chief economist Annika Wallenskog about the auditor’s assessment.

the Municipalities can do it with a mix of efficiency improvements, savings, maybe tax increases and increased government grants, think Wallenskog.

the Conservatives economic-political spokesperson Ulf Kristersson. Photo: Lars Pehrson

Conservatives are true in the national audit office’s criticism of the government. The authority writes among other things that the government has underestimated the municipal expenditure for health care, schools and social care over the coming years.

” the Government ignores the long-term risks we have in front of us within, for example, integration and migration. They should be more honest in their prospects for the future. On the surface, we have good growth in Sweden and everything looks good, but under the surface we have the big worries that we do not lift up properly, says the Conservatives economic-political spokesperson Ulf Kristersson.

He claims that there is a lot of mistrust among the experts against the government’s budgetary policies.

– It is not political criticism, but an objection to how they look on the economy. I think it is remarkable that there are so many who do not trust that the government say that it is.

the national audit office also considers that the government lacks funding for the 17 billion for new measures next year. The conservatives agree, and argue that it violates the fiscal framework.

But the finance minister believes that the government give a true and fair picture of the public finances. She thinks that it is reasonable that the government does not wager all on the to reach the surplus target next year.

– I do a different assessment than those who think that maybe 2017 would say up the people in the municipalities or make drastic tax increases.