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Bildt plays down nanny tax ‘scandal’

Sweden’s foreign minister Carl Bildt has dismissed allegations that he has been flouting the country’s tax rules by not paying any taxes for his nanny in Sweden.

Published: 26 November 2008 12:45 CET

The denial comes following an article in the Aftonbladet newspaper which revealed that Bildt’s nanny, despite being registered as a resident in Sweden, has her income taxes and social fees paid in Italy.

The nanny, a 46-year-old woman from Ukraine, was originally employed in Italy by Bildt and his Italian wife, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, and splits her time between Italy and Sweden.

“It’s absolutely correct that she isn’t bound by any tax in Sweden. That is a decision which was taken by the tax authorities based on the information they received,” Bildt commented on his blog.

Bildt’s wife told Aftonbladet that the nanny is registered in Sweden so that she can have as many rights as possible.

In addition, said Corazza Bildt, the family’s tax matters, including paperwork related to the nanny’s Swedish work permit, had been handled by the Öhrling Pricewaterhouse Coopers accounting firm.

But according to Pia Blank Thörnroos, an expert from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), the general rule is that if someone is registered as a resident of Sweden, that person should pay tax in Sweden.

The Bildt family counters that their nanny is in Sweden fewer than six months out of the year.

If that is the case, said Blank Thörnroos, then the nanny ought not to be registered in Sweden in the first place.

Moreover, even work carried out in Sweden by people registered as residents of other countries are subject to a special 25 percent income tax, a rule to which the Bildt family has failed to abide.

Corazza Bildt tells the newspaper that she trusts the accounting firm has “taken care of the entire process”.

“These are very complicated issues, I want to be sure that they are handled in the right way,” she said.

“But this is a surprise to me. I’ll have to look into it.”

On his blog, the foreign minister accused Aftonbladet of trying to create a scandal where none exists.

“The whole arrangement has been formulated by one of the country’s most respected accounting firms,” he writes.

“The scandal isn’t any bigger than that.”

CHECKLIST: Here's what you need to do if you move away from Sweden

Tell the relevant authorities if you’re leaving for more than a year

If you’re planning on leaving Sweden for more than a year, you will have to let the authorities know. The main authorities in question are Skatteverket (the Tax Agency) and Försäkringskassan (the Social Insurance Agency).

Försäkringskassan

You have to tell Försäkringskassan when you leave so they can assess whether or not you still qualify for Swedish social insurance. As a general rule, you aren’t eligible for Swedish social insurance if you move away from Sweden, but there are exceptions, such as maternity or paternity benefits if you’re moving to another EU country.

This also applies to any family members who move with you – any over-18’s should send in their own documentation to Försäkingskassan about their move abroad. If you’re moving abroad with anyone under 18, you can include them in your own report to Försäkringskassan.

If both legal guardians are moving abroad together, both need to include any children in their application. If one legal guardian is moving abroad and the other is staying in Sweden, you need the guardian staying in Sweden to co-sign your application. If you are the sole legal guardian of any under-18’s travelling with you, you don’t need any documentation from the other parent.

You can register a move abroad with Försäkringskassan on the Mina sidor service on their website, here (log in with BankID).

Skatteverket

If you are moving abroad for a year or longer, you also need to tell the Tax Agency. This also applies if you were planning on moving abroad for less than a year but ended up staying for longer.

If you move to another Nordic country, you will also need to register your move with that country’s authorities if you will be there for six months or more. You’ll be deregistered from the Swedish population register the same day you become registered in another Nordic country’s register.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll lose your personnummer – you’ll still be able to use it if you ever move back to Sweden – but you will no longer be registered as resident in Sweden.

Similarly to Försäkringskassan, you will also need to report any children you are bringing with you, and both legal guardians must sign the form, whether or not both guardians are moving abroad or not.

In some cases, you may still be liable to pay tax in Sweden even if you live abroad – particularly if you are a Swedish citizen or have lived in Sweden for at least ten years. This could be due to owning or renting out property in Sweden, having family in Sweden, or owning a business in Sweden.

You can tell the tax agency of your plans to move abroad here.

Contact your a-kassa, if relevant

If you are member of a Swedish a-kassa (unemployment insurance), make sure you tell them that you’re leaving the country. As a general rule, you have unemployment insurance in the country you work in, so you will most likely have to cancel your a-kassa subscription.

If you are moving to another country with the a-kassa system, such as Denmark or Finland, it may pay to wait until you have joined a new a-kassa in that country before you cancel your membership in Sweden.

This is due to the fact, in some countries, you only qualify for benefits once you fulfil a membership and employment requirement. In Sweden and Denmark, you must have been a member for 12 months before you qualify. In Finland, the membership requirement is 26 weeks.

If you qualify for a-kassa in Sweden before you leave the country, you may be able to transfer your a-kassa membership period over to your new a-kassa abroad and qualify there straight away, but this usually only applies if your period of a-kassa membership is unbroken.

Check what applies in your new country before you cancel your membership in Sweden – your a-kassa should be able to help you with this.

Contact your union, if relevant

Similarly, if you are a member of a Swedish union or fackförbund, let them know you’re moving abroad.

If you’re moving to another Nordic country, they might be able to point you in the direction of the relevant union in that country, if you want to remain a member of a union in your new country.

If you’re moving to another EU country, you may be able to remain a member of your Swedish union as a foreign worker with the status utlandsvistelse.

If you chose to do this, you will usually pay a lower monthly fee than you do in Sweden, and they can still provide assistance with work related issues – although it may make more sense to join a local union in your field with more knowledge of the labout market.

If you don’t want to be a member of a union in your new country and don’t want to be a member of a Swedish union, you should contact your union and ask them to cancel your membership.

Collect relevant documents regarding your Swedish pension

If you have worked in Sweden and paid tax for any length of time, you will have paid in to a Swedish pension. You retain this pension wherever you move, but you must apply for it yourself.

To do so, you will need to give details of when you lived and worked in Sweden, as well as providing copies of work contracts, if you have them. If you have these documents before you leave Sweden, make copies so that you can provide them when asked.

If you move to the EU/EES or Switzerland, you may also have the right to other, non-work based pensions, such as guarantee pension for low- or no-income earners, or the income pension complement (inkomstpensionstillägg).

Currently, you can receive your Swedish pension once you turn 62 – although there is a proposal in parliament due to raise pension age to 63 for those born after 1961 from 2023, so this may change.

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