This is what Gretas masters want for all of us. Sweden is the must "green" country in Europe

"Electricity is taxed as heavily as beer and cigarettes"
Domestic

1 november 2021

at 08.00


The politicians' quarrel makes electricity expensive this winter, states Christian Ekström and Erik Bengtzboe, CEO and chief economist of the non-profit association Skattebetalarna. Acute problems get expensive solutions that ultimately affect consumers, they say. The deregulation of the electricity market would lead to lower prices. Instead, it was the other way around, largely due to sharp tax increases.

In the last twenty years, the tax on electricity has doubled. Nearly half of the electricity bill today consists of tax. At the same time, the need for electricity has increased enormously and is today far higher in large parts of the country than production can handle.

In Skåne, the need for electricity is about four times higher than regional production. The solution has been to import electricity from other countries, electricity that is often both less climate-friendly produced and more expensive for consumers.

Prices are skyrocketing and many companies are afraid of the unstable Swedish electricity market. They need stability to dare to establish themselves and many therefore turn to other countries instead.

READ ALSO: Electricity prices will rise further this autumn - already at a record level

"Politicians' focus does not solve the emergency situation"
" While electricity prices are soaring, the political debate has been focused on wind power versus nuclear power, " write Christian Ekström and Erik Bengtzboe, CEO and chief economist of Taxpayers, respectively, in a debate article in Expressen . They note that the political debate does not resolve the urgent situation.

When winter comes, Swedes risk having to pay sky-high sums to be able to heat their homes, they warn. Already during the summer, the government was forced to panic about reserve power in order for companies and households in southern Sweden to continue to supply electricity. During the late summer, the oil-fired Karlshamnsverket was also started up with extensive emissions as a result.

The authors of the article recall that when the electricity market was deregulated in 1996, the stated intention was that electricity would become a competitive commodity and thus cheaper for consumers. However, that effect has not materialized. A major reason is said to be the ever-increasing electricity taxes.

ALSO READ: Green electricity insufficient - now Sweden is burning oil to the fullest

"You pay tax on the tax"
Today, a quarter of the electricity bill goes to electricity network companies, another quarter goes to electricity trading companies. The rest, ie half the electricity bill, goes to taxes and fees. In the last twenty years, the tax on electricity has doubled.

Since deregulation in 1996, the tax on electricity for households has almost quadrupled, Ekström and Bengtzboe state, from 9.1 öre to the current price of 35.60 öre per kWh. On top of that, VAT is added, which is added to all parts of the electricity bill, ie also to the energy tax. " So you pay tax on the tax ", Ekström and Bengtzboe state.

“ Why is electricity taxed as heavily as, for example, cigarettes or beer? The issue is extremely well motivated at a time when electricity prices are skyrocketing ", they write and point out that high taxes on electricity are not a natural law.