Swedish government wants bank tax that ‘really hits’ right targets

Bloomberg

Sweden’s government wants to revisit the idea of imposing a tax on the financial industry. Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson says her goal is to have a levy that singles out banks with far more precision than previous proposals.
“It should include only the financial sector,” she said in an interview in Stockholm. “We want one that has a more narrow tax base, which really hits what it’s meant to hit.”
The proposal — part of a broader planned tax reform — is likely to make its way through parliament as banks in Sweden get dragged into a money laundering scandal that has dominated headlines across the Nordic and Baltic regions. Most recently, Swedbank AB was targeted by allegations that it handled billions of dollars in dirty money. The bank has had a criminal complaint filed against it by Bill Browder, an investor best known for chasing Russian money launderers.

TAX EVASION, LAUNDERING
Allegations that banks operating in Sweden have been involved in money laundering and helped rich clients evade taxes have shaped the public’s perception of the financial industry. Andersson says voters aren’t likely to feel too sorry for banks if the government is able to move ahead with its planned tax. She’s previously discussed a tax of around 4 billion kronor ($425 million), which would target the biggest banks in Sweden.
“Sympathy for the banks hasn’t been so strong,” Andersson said. “It’s not like the love of banks is something that permeates the Swedish soul.”
Swedish banks trailed behind the Bloomberg index of European financial stocks on Tuesday. Svenska Handelsbanken AB opened lower, while SEB AB and Swedbank AB were little changed about 40 minutes after trading started in Stockholm.
It’s not the first time that Sweden’s center-left government has tried to push through a financial tax.