Swedes "comfortable avoiding tax"

Swedes' willingness to pay the tax levels decided by the government is perhaps not as heartfelt as previously thought: according to new research every third Swede has bought services "black" - cash-in-hand, avoiding the tax - in the last twelve months.

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And, reported Dagens Nyheter, not only is the practice widespread, it is also something which people feel is acceptable.

In a survey carried out by Demoskop on behalf of the Tax Board, 65% said they believed that people in prominent positions in society avoided tax because they "break the norms", while 62% said that tax is too high.

Rather than feeling guilty about depriving the Tax Board of kronor, people who paid cash-in-hand said that they felt satisfied that they got a good deal. Driving too fast was considered to be a more serious offence by the majority.

According to the research, services which tend to slip through the tax net are building or repair-related, hairdressing and child care. The average annual undeclared expenditure is 7,900 kronor.

Over 2,000 Swedes were interviewed for the survey.

Are you comfortable "paying black"? Discuss!