Stefan Löfven former Prime Minister
Ibrahim Baylan former Minister for Enterprise
Lars Mejern Senior Social Democrat MP
conditions for businesses with a long-term perspective. Together with policymakers, Swedish family business owners remain committed to building the world’s best welfare system – anchored in a resilient, world-class business sector.
have acknowledged this. They have praised family businesses for sustaining the economy during the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite pressure from more radical factions, they have refrained from proposing inheritance, gift, or wealth taxes in their election platform, recognising that such taxes yield little revenue, distort incentives, and undermine the foundations of welfare financing. Senior MP Lars Mejern (Social Democrat) has encouraged family business owners to take a more active role in public discourse, emphasising their long-term perspective: “Politicians have the longest time horizon when newly elected, then it quickly shrinks.
The then Minister for Enterprise Ibrahim Baylan spoke at an FBN conference and explored some of these broader implications. He noted that ownership taxes diverted time and resources from strategic business development and primarily enriched tax consultants rather than the state. Tax revenues, he said, were minimal and in the worst cases, business ownership simply relocated abroad Subsequent research has confirmed the positive impact of tax reform on Sweden’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Today, the country boasts a world-class business climate. Studies from the Research Institute of Industrial Economics show that family firms contribute significantly to productivity and resilience. They outperform non-family firms and retain more employees during downturns. According to the National Institute of Economic Research, this translates to roughly two percentage points higher employment. – shifting decision-making and employment beyond Sweden’s borders. Former Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and current Social Democratic leaders
Annelie Karlsson CEO and Founder of Family Business Network Sweden
But families think in generations, not quarters.”
The gradual abolition of inheritance and gift taxes in Sweden stands as a landmark in modern fiscal policy. Family businesses are grateful for the decision which has shaped beneficial
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