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

The Swedish attitude towards tax contrasts sharply with many countries where taxes can be a deeply divisive issue. We investigate what this says about Swedish society and how the popularity of the welfare state might survive growing challenges in the future.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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    6 months ago

    Americans have been taught to hate taxes. They have been sold the idea that the original concept of “no taxation without representation” didn’t include the latter two words. Decades of Republicans demonizing taxes have done it.

    • HubertManne@kbin.social
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      6 months ago

      well swedes also get value for their taxes. I remember one who would talk about how it drove him nuts coming across pot holes and various broken infrastructure as it would be unacceptable for it to be like that for weeks were he was from.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        6 months ago

        Right, but there’s a reason we don’t get value for our taxes and that reason is also Republicans. Especially Reagan.

        • HubertManne@kbin.social
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          6 months ago

          oh yeah and we end up paying more in local taxes than any reduction we ever got on federal ones.

      • Dojan@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yeah, re-paving happens all the time here. I visited Massachusetts back in 2019 and was shocked at the abysmal state of the roads.

        • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          But Massachusetts has snowy winters and icy conditions which means they need to salt the roads. This is not something that they have to contend with in check notes Sweden?

          /S

          • Dojan@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            This year in particular has been frustrating when it comes to snow. I live pretty far south, about two hours south of Stockholm, and we’ve had snow for like half of April. It all melted at the end of March, there were spring flowers, and then we had a shit tonne of snow again, which melted, followed by more snow. So many false starts. 😩

            It’s been snow free for a week now, I hope it holds.

          • Dojan@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            I’ve heard that MA is a pretty solid place overall. To be fair I loved my stay, but I think the main reason for that was meeting up with a very close friend of mine. I recall this crossing in particular leaving me rather exasperated.

            It seems like they’ve since paved over it, however. It is a bit baffling to me that it looks the same in 2012 as it did to me in 2019.

    • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Nah they’ve been taught to hate government. Reagan finalized this with his “the scariest words you can ever hear are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’”. He defined the government and anything the government does as bad and evil. This is the whole “get government to the size you can drown it in a bathtub”. This naturally goes to taxes are feeding the big evil government, so taxes are just as bad.

    • ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 months ago

      It’s more like a lot of people don’t feel like they are being represented. I wouldn’t complain if my taxes were housing homeless people or funding space exploration, but instead they’re funding 37 wars.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Exactly. We’re also taught not to see the value we receive from our tax paying. And to fear and hate the IRS (especially since we have to file our tsxes

    • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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      6 months ago

      You can see it in the way they display prices in shops.

      Always without taxes, to make sure the customer can blame the taxes for the high prices. Even though the tax directly relates to the cost of the product.

      There is absolutely no reason why a shop couldn’t show the total prices with taxes included. Because those taxes don’t change daily, nor does the shop move.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        6 months ago

        Agreed. And it should be considered false advertising. Just like how gas stations in the U.S. have all of their prices end in .9, so gas isn’t $3.00, it’s $3.009. Which you can’t pay because you can’t pay in cent fractions. It just makes the gas look slightly cheaper.

      • Cheems@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        The actual reason is because most of our taxes go to bombing foreign countries, subsidizing big businesses, or lining the pockets of the rich. If they went to something that helped actual Americans then I’m sure the perception would change. We need health care, public transportation, and better public education.

        • suction@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          I’m less optimistic it would change the perception of “those people”

    • signor@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Radiation is theft seems to be far more popular. They demonize it all in all cases. Entirely brainwashed without thinking about the services that benefit them. sigh