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Ulv i fårakläder? - carried interest i ett dualt skattesystem

Karlström, Svante LU (2016) LAGF03 20162
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Sedan 1990-talet har Sverige ett dualt skattesystem, vilket innebär att inkomst av tjänst och kapital beskattas utifrån olika skattesatser, sistnämnda betydligt lägre. Denna ordning skapar incitament till att hänföra inkomster till inkomstslaget kapital. Uppsatsen syftar delvis till att belysa de teoretiska skillnaderna inkomstslagen emellan, då det är en intressant fråga i sig som dessutom är nödvändig att ha med sig i uppsatsens huvuddel.

Huvudfrågan handlar om fenomenet carried interest, den ersättning som utgår till riskkapitalister, benämnda Key Executives, då en riskkapitalfond avvecklas med ett särskilt bra resultat. Carried interest är asymmetrisk i bemärkelsen att den procentuellt överstiger vad Key Executives själva har... (More)
Sedan 1990-talet har Sverige ett dualt skattesystem, vilket innebär att inkomst av tjänst och kapital beskattas utifrån olika skattesatser, sistnämnda betydligt lägre. Denna ordning skapar incitament till att hänföra inkomster till inkomstslaget kapital. Uppsatsen syftar delvis till att belysa de teoretiska skillnaderna inkomstslagen emellan, då det är en intressant fråga i sig som dessutom är nödvändig att ha med sig i uppsatsens huvuddel.

Huvudfrågan handlar om fenomenet carried interest, den ersättning som utgår till riskkapitalister, benämnda Key Executives, då en riskkapitalfond avvecklas med ett särskilt bra resultat. Carried interest är asymmetrisk i bemärkelsen att den procentuellt överstiger vad Key Executives själva har investerat i fonden. Frågan gäller om den ska betraktas som inkomst av kapital eller tjänst, och det finns goda argument för båda alternativen. Vad som komplicerar bedömningen är att Key Executives är anställda i ett rådgivningsbolag, juridiskt frikopplat från fondstrukturen, som bidrar med rådgivning till fondens förvaltare. Enligt fondavtalen så är utbetalningen av carried interest avhängig att Key Executives själva har investerat i fonden de har initierat (ca 2 %) medan SKV driver agendan att carried interest ska betraktas som ersättning för det arbete som Key Executives utför i rådgivningsbolaget, även om det inte finns något civilrättsligt stöd för detta.

Frågan har varit föremål för prövning i de förvaltningsrättsliga instanserna i olika varianter, nu senast har förvaltningsrätten prövat frågan utifrån de s.k. fåmansbolagsreglerna, vilka kan betecknas som en hybrid mellan kapital- och tjänstebeskattning. Frågan är på intet sätt slutreglerad och skulle tjäna på att bedömas i en prejudicerande instans, då praxis i dagsläget är spretig och inkonsekvent, och går att anmärka på ur ett legalitetsperspektiv. (Less)
Abstract
Since the 1990s, Sweden has had a dual tax system, in the sense that income of employment and income of capital are taxed differently, the latter considerably lower. This order creates incentives to attribute the income to the one of capital. This thesis aims to highlight the theoretical differences between income of capital and employment, whereas it is an interesting question in itself, but also since it is necessary to have knowledge about it, reading the thesis’ main part.

The main issue concerns the carried interest phenomenon, the reimbursement that emanates to venture capitalists, referred to as Key Executives, once a private equity fund is liquidated with a particularly good profit. Carried interest is asymmetrical in the sense... (More)
Since the 1990s, Sweden has had a dual tax system, in the sense that income of employment and income of capital are taxed differently, the latter considerably lower. This order creates incentives to attribute the income to the one of capital. This thesis aims to highlight the theoretical differences between income of capital and employment, whereas it is an interesting question in itself, but also since it is necessary to have knowledge about it, reading the thesis’ main part.

The main issue concerns the carried interest phenomenon, the reimbursement that emanates to venture capitalists, referred to as Key Executives, once a private equity fund is liquidated with a particularly good profit. Carried interest is asymmetrical in the sense that it percentagewise exceeds the amount that Key executives have invested in the fund themselves. The question is whether it should be regarded as income of capital or employment, since there are good arguments on both sides. What complicates the judgment is that the Key Executives are hired in an advisory company, which is legally independent from the fund structure, which contribute with advising to the custodian. According to the fund contracts the reimbursement of carried interest is dependent on that the Key Executives themselves have invested in the very fund that they have initiated (approximately 2 %). The Swedish tax agency however drives the agenda that carried interest should be regarded as income of employment due to the work that the Key Executives execute in the advisory company, even though there is no support in civil law.

The issue has been subject for trial in the administrative courts in various shapes, most recently applied on the rules of close companies. The issue is not nearly concluded, and would benefit from being subject in a precedential instance, since the court practice is straggly and inconsistent, and possibly subject for criticism from a legality perspective. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Karlström, Svante LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20162
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
skatterätt
language
Swedish
id
8897269
date added to LUP
2017-02-13 08:25:59
date last changed
2017-02-13 08:25:59
@misc{8897269,
  abstract     = {{Since the 1990s, Sweden has had a dual tax system, in the sense that income of employment and income of capital are taxed differently, the latter considerably lower. This order creates incentives to attribute the income to the one of capital. This thesis aims to highlight the theoretical differences between income of capital and employment, whereas it is an interesting question in itself, but also since it is necessary to have knowledge about it, reading the thesis’ main part. 

The main issue concerns the carried interest phenomenon, the reimbursement that emanates to venture capitalists, referred to as Key Executives, once a private equity fund is liquidated with a particularly good profit. Carried interest is asymmetrical in the sense that it percentagewise exceeds the amount that Key executives have invested in the fund themselves. The question is whether it should be regarded as income of capital or employment, since there are good arguments on both sides. What complicates the judgment is that the Key Executives are hired in an advisory company, which is legally independent from the fund structure, which contribute with advising to the custodian. According to the fund contracts the reimbursement of carried interest is dependent on that the Key Executives themselves have invested in the very fund that they have initiated (approximately 2 %). The Swedish tax agency however drives the agenda that carried interest should be regarded as income of employment due to the work that the Key Executives execute in the advisory company, even though there is no support in civil law.

The issue has been subject for trial in the administrative courts in various shapes, most recently applied on the rules of close companies. The issue is not nearly concluded, and would benefit from being subject in a precedential instance, since the court practice is straggly and inconsistent, and possibly subject for criticism from a legality perspective.}},
  author       = {{Karlström, Svante}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ulv i fårakläder? - carried interest i ett dualt skattesystem}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}