I started saving privately in IPS (Individual Pension Savings) already in 1998, four years after it was introduced.

It was the centre-right government under Carl Bildt that launched IPS on 1 January 1994 as a way to encourage ordinary people to save for themselves. The idea was simple: give us a tax deduction because the coming pension reform was going to deliver a lower replacement rate than the old ATP system.

More than thirty years later the rules have been changed again and again. The tax deduction for IPS was finally 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.

The accounts this tax actually hits are listed here: Our Brokers and Accounts.