The Riksdag has examined a Communication from the European Commission on changes to decision-making in EU tax policy. According to the current regulatory framework, all countries need to agree and decisions need to be made unanimously to be adopted. In many other areas, a qualified majority is sufficient, that is two thirds of the member states need to say yes for a decision to be made. The European Commission now proposes a gradual shift to qualified majority voting in tax policy decisions too.
According to the European Commission, today's system, which functions differently in all 28 member states, has a negative impact on companies and makes the single market less attractive to investors. In the opinion of the Commission, globalisation and digitalisation also mean that tax policy cannot only be dealt with at the national level, it requires joint solutions too.
The Riksdag is very critical of the European Commission's proposal. In the opinion of the Riksdag, the possibility for member states to introduce and maintain national tax regulations is a highly important principle that must be safeguarded. The Riksdag underlines that that national sovereignty in tax matters is crucial for Sweden's competitiveness and for the funding of welfare.
The Riksdag filed the statement, that is, it closed the matter.