Central government budget

Following the Riksdag’s adoption of the adjustments to the Government’s Budget Bill for 2022 proposed by the Moderate Party, the Sweden Democrats and the Christian Democrats, the Riksdag has decided on appropriations in the 27 expenditure areas. The Riksdag has thus concluded its processing of the central government budget for 2022.

In the Budget Bill for 2022, the Government proposes a reinforced jobs policy with new measures so that everyone can participate and take Sweden forward after the pandemic. These measures include providing more people with employment training, counteracting long-term unemployment, giving older jobseekers more time in new start jobs and introducing more unemployed people with disabilities to the working world.

Everyone has a right to a safe and secure work environment. A poor work environment should never provide a competitive advantage. Companies that deliberately contravene laws and regulations to gain competitive advantages create unhealthy competition in the labour market. In the Budget Bill for 2022, the Government proposes three measures to create security in the labour market and curb work-related crime.

Since the infection started to spread, the Government and the Riksdag have taken a large number of measures to safeguard people’s lives, health and livelihoods. At the same time a powerful green restart of the Swedish economy is being implemented. In all, the economic measures taken are worth almost SEK 400 billion for 2020 and 2021. This corresponds to around SEK 40 000 per inhabitant. In addition, around SEK 1 000 billion has been made available in various forms of loans and guarantees.

On 20 September 2021 the Government presented its budget proposal for 2022 to the Riksdag.

The Government is presenting the Budget Bill for 2022 to the Riksdag today. In it, the Government proposes measures to accelerate the climate transition, get more people into work, strengthen the welfare system and make Sweden a safe country for all. In total, reforms worth approximately SEK 74 billion are involved.

Men’s violence against women must stop. This is a priority issue for the Government. In the Budget Bill for 2022, the Government proposes a range of measures to prevent and combat men’s violence against women and honour-based violence and oppression. This involves permanent funds and government grants, and a sheltered housing reform for adults and children who are subjected to violence.

The Government on instructed the Swedish Tax Agency and Tillväxtverket (the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth) to make preparations so that as of 1 April 2022, the Tax Agency can be the managing authority for Tillväxtverket’s currently responsibilities under the Act on aid in the event of short-time work.

Today, Minister for Finance Magdalena Andersson presents the Ministry of Finance’s latest economic forecast and the direction of the central government budget for next year. The Ministry of Finance forecasts growth of 4.4 per cent this year and 3.5 per cent next year.

The Swedish economy is recovering rapidly after the deep downturn last year. The Ministry of Finance’s latest forecast calls for GDP to grow by 4.7 per cent this year, which is 1.5 percentage points higher than in the forecast presented in connection with the Spring Budget in April. Public finances are also expected to be stronger than in the previous forecast.

The Government has decided to extend the government credit guarantee scheme, ‘Företagsakuten’, to support small- and medium-sized companies in financial difficulty due to the pandemic from 30 June to 30 September 2021.

The Government has today decided to extend turnover-based support to sole traders and trading partnerships with at least one physical person as a partner to cover the period March–June 2021. This support is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

The government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party have agreed on supporting SAS to access liquidity equivalent to SEK 1.5 billion. This support from the Swedish State is subject to the European Commission’s approval of the measures and corresponding support from the Danish State.

The situation for the travel industry remains serious. Earlier in the pandemic, travellers sometimes accepted replacement holidays instead of a refund when package tours were cancelled due to the outbreak. Many of these replacement holidays are now also being cancelled. The Government is therefore working on a proposal that will give package tour operators the option of taking government loans to refund money to travellers. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

In the spring amending budget, the Government announced that the central government rental support scheme would be extended through the second quarter of 2021. Following an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party, the Government now intends to examine the conditions for extending the scheme through the third quarter of 2021.

The Government proposes that the area of culture be allocated an additional SEK 750 million for extended emergency support and incentives in 2021 to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitate the resumption of activities once the situation allows. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

The Government proposes allocating an additional SEK 600 million to sport to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitate the resumption of activities once the situation allows and contribute to gender-equal and equitable sports activities. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

To help businesses overcome the consequences of the pandemic, the Government will propose extending the turnover-based support for sole traders and trading partnerships in which at least one partner is a natural person to cover July, August and September 2021. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.