I started saving privately in IPS (Individual Pension Savings) already in 1998, the year it was introduced.

It was the Social Democratic government under Göran Persson that launched IPS on 1 January 1998 as a complement to the big pension reform. The idea was to encourage private saving with tax deductions because the new pension system would give a lower replacement rate than the old ATP.

Thirty-one years later, the rules have changed repeatedly. The tax deduction for IPS was eventually abolished on 1 January 2016 by Stefan Löfven’s government together with the Greens.

In 2012, the Alliance government introduced ISK (InvesteringsSparKonto) – a much simpler way to save in shares and funds with a flat-rate tax instead of reporting every single transaction. It was a win-win for both savers and the state.

Since then, the conditions for ISK have been adjusted several times – sometimes improved, sometimes worsened. Now the opposition (Social Democrats, Left Party and Greens) has once again promised to make it less attractive if they win the election this autumn: lower tax-free thresholds, higher standard tax on larger balances, etc.

It feels like every time ordinary Swedes manage to save and build something for the future, the Left immediately starts looking for ways to tax it more heavily or make it less worthwhile.

As if they don’t actually want ordinary people to become financially secure — or, God forbid, financially independent.

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This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

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