2025.03.19
The electronics tax is increasing – without measurable environmental impact
The Swedish electronics tax on white goods and home electronics has doubled since its introduction in 2017 – without achieving any measurable environmental effect. In 2024, the tax collection increased by just over 21 percent and amounted to SEK 2.4 billion, despite the fact that sales of white goods and home electronics decreased by approximately 7 percent.
The industry organization APPLiA has produced an annual report for 2024, which compiles statistics and analyses from the Swedish Tax Agency and industry players.
The sharp increase is primarily due to two factors:
- An annual index increase in tax rates of 9.31 percent
- The abolition of the right to deduct for reactively added flame retardants from July 2023
A costly and inefficient tax
The electronics tax is a heavy burden on both businesses and consumers. It is taxed based on the weight of the product rather than the content of environmentally harmful chemicals, which particularly affects white goods. For example, a washing machine is burdened with almost 700 kronor in extra cost due to the tax, making it inflationary and more expensive for households.
In addition, the administration of the tax is a comprehensive and resource-intensive process for the over 800 companies covered. At the same time, the government's control of foreign e-retailers and EU traders is inadequate, which means that only 0.5 percent of the tax collection comes from these actors - despite increasing imports via e-commerce.
Abolish the electronics tax
The industry organization APPLiA has long criticized the electronics tax for being ineffective and lacking actual environmental benefits. Swedish consumers now pay hundreds of millions of kronor extra each year for a tax that does not steer towards more environmentally friendly products. At the same time, there are already functioning EU regulations, such as RoHS and REACH, which can better contribute to the substitution of harmful chemicals in electronics.
– The electronics tax is an expensive and inefficient policy instrument that makes energy-efficient products more expensive without creating any environmental benefits. We urge the government to abolish the tax and instead invest in targeted environmental measures that really make a difference, says Kent Oderud, report author and chairman of APPLiA in Sweden.
Electronics tax 2024
