Sambeskattning i Sverige : Rättsutvecklingen från år 1902 till nutid

Sammanfattning: In this thesis, the development of individual income taxation in Sweden’s modern history is studied. The main topic of study is the reform from joint income taxation to individual income taxation of 1971. The research is focused on the period from 1902 until today in Swedish law. However, functional comparisons with Germany, as one of the European countries which still apply joint income taxation, will be made. The method of this thesis is a combination of legal historical and legal dogmatic methods. The legal ground for the Swedish joint income taxation is the tax reform of 1902. The rules for expenses deductible from income, the municipal tax law as well as the state tax were the most important legal developments of the early twentieth century. Joint income taxation with income splitting was introduced in 1952 and voluntary individual income taxation was introduced in 1965. In 1971, the reform from joint to individual income taxation took place. In 2007, the last part of joint income taxation was abolished. The main cause for the reform to individual income taxation was that it was considered fundamentally wrong to inhibit women’s participation on the labor market through an inequal taxation. Through the study of labor market statistics and by a comparison with Germany, the conclusion is that the reform to individual income taxation has had a positive impact on women’s participation on the labor market and hence a positive effect on their economic freedom. The arguments that are brought forward today, for a return to the system of joint income taxation are based on the principle of tax capacity. However, the system of joint income taxation gives rise to insolvably difficult problems of definition of the taxable unit.