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2022.11.15

APPLiA's comments on the government's budget

Applia notes, like most, that it is a conservative budget that was presented. The government itself has also described it as austerity. Among other things, they have expressed that the focus of the budget is to support Swedish households and companies and the greatest scope for reform is to lower taxes on gasoline and diesel and increase unemployment benefits.

High cost protection for electricity costs is outside the budget. The starting point in the budget is that inflation is increasing and economic development is weak, meaning that purchasing power is deteriorating and that everyone needs to take responsibility. There is also a risk that the coming years will continue to be weak with high inflation.

What does this mean for Applia initially and over time?

The electronics tax is being maintained despite diligent lobbying from Applia. Some changes are being made to the budget, some of which have a major impact. The CPI increases in 2023 will first lead to an increase in the tax and then a reduction, what's worse is that the government explicitly states that it does not intend to abolish the tax. It is worrying for the industry if this is a clear position or just poorly formulated. For our position, it would have been more positive to state that it currently sees no possibility of abolishing the tax based on other priorities.

The budget bill also introduces some of the regulatory simplifications that have been out for consultation, where Applia has pointed out that even the regulatory simplification as proposed will increase the tax, which is probably not the intention, but will still be the result. For white goods, it is highly likely that the tax will now be doubled, despite the government estimating that the tax will continue to bring in approximately SEK 1.9 billion for the state.

The index increases and rule simplifications will most likely mean that the tax on Applia companies' product range will increase from approximately 700 million to around 1.3 billion.

If the intention is to reduce purchasing power and curb inflation, this can of course instead drive inflation, not least for our product category where you cannot avoid replacing, for example, an old fridge/freezer.

Electronics tax