A Buckle-Up For Stockholmers: Municipal Tax Hike in 2024: Here’s What you Need to Know!
Oh boy, brace yourself for this developing news: **Stockholm’s red-green ruling coalition in the City Hall has planned a whopping 24 ore increase in the municipal tax in 2024!**
Karin Wanngård (S), the city’s finance commissioner, has her side of the argument articulated – they’re having a tough time and prioritizing welfare.
What’s this gibberish all about, you might ask? Here goes: **Every Stockholmer this year is shelling out 29.82 kroner of every earned hundred dollars in municipal and regional tax**. It seems that when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, we will all be digging deeper into our pockets as – barring a tax hike from Region Stockholm – the tax bill climbs to 30.06 kroner!
“Despite the increase, our city’s taxes will still be among the lowest in the county. We get it, folks are struggling with increasing interest rates among other challenges. But let’s face it, the municipalities aren’t getting increased state aid,” Wanngård explains.
Hello, Tax Hike! What’s in it for us?
Now, the tax increase will bring the city an impressive extra sum of 848 million – money that is much needed, according to Wanngård. Instead of tax cuts, the welfare is put on priority.
“Above all, we prioritize schools and preventive work, looking at the wave of violence today causing the city’s placement costs for young people to increase. Nationally, preventive work is talked about but not funded,” she adds.
School takes the most out of the city’s budget bag, about one-third, as we’re being told!
Are there more rooms to fill?
That’s not all! More funds will be needed for preschool and social services, explains Wanngård.
On the contrary, Christofer Fjellner from the Moderate Party perceives this tax increase plan as “deeply irresponsible”. What’s cooking there? He finds a left-leaning Stockholm becoming quite expensive – yesterday it was the increase in parking charges, now it’s about raising tariffs on district heating, on waste.
“By 2024, Stockholm will have higher tax revenues and higher state grants than ever before. If they are not able to prioritize schools and security, it’s not because of a lack of funds but because they have not tried, ” says Fjellner.
He calls it a “sad social democratic habit” to raise taxes.
Fasten Your Seatbelts, Expats!
Fellow expats, let’s face it, this news matters to us! After all, a well-functioning, friendly city costs money. So, as we juggle our Swedish lessons and an obsession for meatballs, let’s brace ourselves for this tax ride in 2024. Stockholm, you’re still worth it!
Swedes, remember Dorotea in Västerbotten with the highest tax, 35.15, and Österåker in Stockholm County with the lowest, 28.98. The national average is 32.24!
