Why Sweden is proud to have the world's highest taxes - BBC REEL

Sweden is famous for having some of the highest taxes in the world, and yet the country's tax agency is still one of its most trusted institutions.

The Swedish attitude towards tax contrasts sharply with many countries. We investigate what this says about Swedish society and how the popularity of the welfare state might survive growing challenges in the future.

Video by Maddy Savage and Benoît Derrier

#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews

[rerezpect]

It's not about high tax.
It's about how efficiency tax money goes to public services.

[nicestuOnline]

Having moved to Sweden from a country where everyone avoids taxes where possible, the attitude is totally different. A BIG factor I think is that everyone in Sweden qualifies for all the benefits. Whether you are rich or poor, all parents get PAID parental leave, all children have free healthcare, education is free for all.... on top of the normal infrastructure stuff. Whereas where I came from, if you are "rich" your benefits are reduced and could be cut if the government determines you are "rich" and don't qualify for any benefits. So you end up in a situation where the people who pays the taxes are the ones that get little to no benefits... (and of course the truly rich have smart accountants to mitigate their taxes, so really only the middle class pays taxes) and strangely enough, this causes resentment towards taxation.

[bulletnutz]

High taxrates does only work in countrys with low corruption😐

[ericdoberstein]

Some people are very concerned about freedom in the U.S. But there is one freedom they don't even consider and that is being free of fear and anxiety. Being free of the fear that an illness will bankrupt your family or being free of the anxiety of how you will pay for your or your children's education without going massively into debt is a freedom well worth paying higher taxes for.

[spy]

We travel between Sweden & England a few times a year, every year. We've actively done the comparison many many times. In England you actually end up paying more when you factor in all the other ways they (private & government) tax you.
Where British taxpayer money goes is a mystery, because the entire infrastructure is crumbling, inefficient & massively weighted towards the wealthy, yet in Sweden the money clearly & visibly gets used to improve everyone's lives.
It really doesn't matter how much they pay in taxes, it matters how it gets used.

[hannaolivia]

Important to note is that Sweden is one of the countries with the lowest corruption rate in the world. I am very happy to pay taxes knowing the money comes back to me in one way or another, or that I help someone else, and that I don’t have to worry about insurances. But in other countries this is not possible until the high level of corruption stops. It’s a balance. - with this said, Sweden is not perfect and I’m sure some of my money during my life time will go to something I do not support.

[tclass]

When I visited Sweden about 15 years ago I did some reading on their policies and general way of life and was surprised at the level of taxation that was going on there... But after I learned what they actually GET for their tax dollars I wasn’t surprised at all to see that most Swedes seem pretty satisfied with the arrangement. And why wouldn’t you be? If you don’t have to spend money on education, child care and health care you actually have quite a bit of disposable income left over. $180/mth for child care... here in Ontario, Canada it’s almost 10 times that amount. It’s insane.

[knarika.]

I’m a Swede with a pretty average income. I pay only 30% tax. I have a chronic health condition that requires medication and lifelong treatment. I’m also on sick leave because of it almost every month for a couple of days. I can’t imagine what my treatment would have cost without our free healthcare. I might be also easily fired for so many sick leaves if not for our labor laws and unions. I also get paid 80% for every sick day I need, and they are unlimited. I hate being sick and missing out so much on life. But I’m so grateful for all the support I get from the state that makes my life easier. I would have happily paid more taxes for the same benefits. I’m not even mentioning the free education and excellent public infrastructure.

[PuffOfSmoke]

Europeans: We like paying taxes so that everyone can have a better welfare service.
Americans: I don't like the gov't using my tax to pay for lazy people.

[tomorrowsyoutube]

American here. I work in DMV area. DC is a rathole. I’ve lived all around the world. I did my first trip to Stockholm and rode a train to jukkasjärvi. Hands down Sweden is the most beautiful place on this planet. I’ve never felt more safe and secure than I have there and was in aw the whole time over it’s beauty

[Amr_D]

Hard for this system to work with a country who have weak currency and high population 30 million and above for example. To add to that its impossible if the corrupt politicians are ruling the country.

[larasingg]

"Several university degrees"... damn.

[acacia]

As a Swede I hate taxes and do everything I can to avoid it as much as possible.

[wimeatsworld]

We have the same in Belgium.
Sky high taxes of which, on paper, a lot goes to healthcare, education and public services.
It's only that the quality sucks donkey balls and a lot of money gets lost because of 7 governments in this handkerchief covering country.

High taxes in itself might not be the problem. The problem is the government related to it. In all other endevours, monopolies are seen as bad. Governments prove why that is.

[daimsaeed]

Lmao they speak better english than britons

[Peruvianbean]

Why dont they show the tax bands so we can compare easily?

[rcst]

Nice thumbnail, she doesn't look crazy at all.

[laurentdrozin]

I totally agree. I have been living in Sweden for 25 years, and I can vouch for the fact that the reason why taxes are not a problem is that the system is well managed. You know everyone is well taken care of and you get value for your money. Then it is no problem to pay taxes. I am quite sure it is less expensive to do it that way than to fund everything privately.

[PaulHo]

Wow. I had never thought of Sweden framed as a welfare state, let alone a country that uses welfare first instead of a last resort like the US. That's powerful.

[kirstenjensen]

Whilst we happily pay our taxes for the costs in society we are not happy about the ever increasing ways for the government to squeeze ordinary people on ordinary wages out of more taxes.