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183 dagar eller sex månader? - Svensk beskattning av tjänsteresenärer med ett formellt respektive ekonomiskt arbetsgivarsynsätt i ett EU-rättsligt perspektiv

Huitfeldt, Fredrik LU (2020) JURM02 20201
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The Swedish government has proposed introducing the concept of economic
employer in Swedish tax law. The changes are proposed to take effect on 1
January 2021 and entail that some individuals, whose income was previously
tax exempt due to the so called 183-day rule, now will be subject to Swedish
income tax. This applies to situations of hiring-out of labour. A hiring-out of
labour situation occurs when an individual, employed by a foreign employer,
carries out work as an integrated part of the business activities of a Swedish
person. The Swedish person is then considered as the foreign individual’s
economic employer resulting in the foreign individual being subject to
Swedish income tax on income earned while working in Sweden,... (More)
The Swedish government has proposed introducing the concept of economic
employer in Swedish tax law. The changes are proposed to take effect on 1
January 2021 and entail that some individuals, whose income was previously
tax exempt due to the so called 183-day rule, now will be subject to Swedish
income tax. This applies to situations of hiring-out of labour. A hiring-out of
labour situation occurs when an individual, employed by a foreign employer,
carries out work as an integrated part of the business activities of a Swedish
person. The Swedish person is then considered as the foreign individual’s
economic employer resulting in the foreign individual being subject to
Swedish income tax on income earned while working in Sweden, as if
employed in Sweden.

Due to transfer pricing rules on intra-group services, the new rules will in
some cases apply to short-term business travellers that are limited tax
residents in Sweden. In these cases, tax liability will arise for income earned
during business trips to Sweden. Swedish unlimited tax residents working
abroad can under some circumstances claim tax exemption in accordance
with the so called six-month rule or one-year rule for income earned through
their foreign employment relating to work carried out both abroad and in
Sweden. As a result, short-term business travellers employed abroad but with
unlimited tax residency in Sweden can claim tax exemption for income
related to work in Sweden in situations where limited tax residents cannot.

This thesis examines how tax residency status for short term business
travellers affect their effective taxation in Sweden. The current legislation is
analysed from an EU-regulatory perspective to determine if the rules comply
with the free movement doctrine. Further, the effect on short term business
travellers of an economic employer view is examined and the proposed
legislation’s compliance with the free movement of labour is analysed.

This thesis concludes that the current Swedish rules on tax exemption for
short-term business travellers limits the free movement of labour within the
EU in cases where limited tax residents cannot claim tax exemption while
unlimited tax residents in a comparable situation can claim such exemption
in accordance with the six-month rule or one-year rule and the double taxation
on limited tax residents is not fully neutralized through the applicable tax
treaty. It is further concluded in this thesis that an economic employer view
will increase the number of cases where the free movement of labour is
limited through discrepancies in tax exemption doctrines for short-term
business travellers depending on their tax residency status. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Regeringen ämnar införa synsättet ekonomisk arbetsgivare i Sverige från och
med den 1 januari 2021. Förändringen innebär att personer som tidigare
kunde åberopa skattefrihet i Sverige till följd av den så kallade 183-
dagarsregeln nu i vissa fall blir skattskyldiga i Sverige. Detta gäller
arbetstagare som är anställda utomlands men som arbetar i Sverige och anses
uthyrda till Sverige. En sådan uthyrningssituation bedöms föreligga om
arbetstagaren utför arbete i Sverige, åt sin arbetsgivares räkning, men som en
integrerad del av en svensk uppdragsgivares verksamhet. Den svenska
uppdragsgivaren anses då vara ekonomisk arbetsgivare med följden att
arbetstagaren blir skattskyldig i Sverige för inkomst som intjänas i Sverige.

Till... (More)
Regeringen ämnar införa synsättet ekonomisk arbetsgivare i Sverige från och
med den 1 januari 2021. Förändringen innebär att personer som tidigare
kunde åberopa skattefrihet i Sverige till följd av den så kallade 183-
dagarsregeln nu i vissa fall blir skattskyldiga i Sverige. Detta gäller
arbetstagare som är anställda utomlands men som arbetar i Sverige och anses
uthyrda till Sverige. En sådan uthyrningssituation bedöms föreligga om
arbetstagaren utför arbete i Sverige, åt sin arbetsgivares räkning, men som en
integrerad del av en svensk uppdragsgivares verksamhet. Den svenska
uppdragsgivaren anses då vara ekonomisk arbetsgivare med följden att
arbetstagaren blir skattskyldig i Sverige för inkomst som intjänas i Sverige.

Till följd av regler för internprissättning inom koncerner kommer personer
som reser på tjänsteresa till Sverige i vissa fall att träffas av de nya reglerna.
Begränsat skattskyldiga personer som tidigare kunde undanta sin inkomst
från beskattning genom tillämpning av 183-dagarsregeln blir istället
skattskyldiga för inkomst som är hänförlig till arbete utfört under tjänsteresan
i Sverige. Obegränsat skattskyldiga personer som är anställda utomlands kan
under vissa förutsättningar undanta sin arbetsinkomst från utlandsanställningen från svensk beskattning. Detta gäller även arbete som utförs på
tjänsteresor till Sverige om vistelsen i Sverige är kortare än sex dagar per
månad och 72 dagar per år.

I uppsatsen jämförs den svenska beskattningen av begränsat respektive
obegränsat skattskyldiga utländska tjänsteresenärer. Jämförelsen sker utifrån
regler om fri rörlighet för arbetstagare inom EU och i ljuset av Högsta
förvaltningsdomstolens praxis. Den EU-rättsliga analys som sker i uppsatsen
görs både av dagens regler och utifrån rättsläget om Sverige inför synsättet
ekonomisk arbetsgivare. De konkreta effekterna för tjänsteresenärer av
införandet av synsättet ekonomisk arbetsgivare utreds också i uppsatsen.

Slutsatsen i uppsatsen är att begränsat skattskyldiga tjänsteresenärers fria
rörlighet i vissa fall begränsas genom att obegränsat skattskyldiga personers
inkomst undantas från beskattning i situationer där begränsat skattskyldiga
personers inkomst beskattas. Detta resulterar i en högre total beskattning för
begränsat skattskyldiga personer i vissa fall. Vidare konstateras i uppsatsen
att införandet av synsättet ekonomisk arbetsgivare i vissa fall medför en högre
total beskattning för tjänsteresenärer inom koncerner genom att deras inkomst
blir skattepliktig i Sverige. Detta gäller bara begränsat skattskyldiga personer
och utgör en utvidgad begränsning av den fria rörligheten för arbetstagare. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Huitfeldt, Fredrik LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
183 days or six months? - Swedish taxation of short-term business travellers in an EU context
course
JURM02 20201
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EU-rätt, EU law, skatterätt, tax law, ekonomisk arbetsgivare, economic employer
language
Swedish
id
9010143
date added to LUP
2020-06-15 08:49:03
date last changed
2020-06-15 08:49:03
@misc{9010143,
  abstract     = {{The Swedish government has proposed introducing the concept of economic
employer in Swedish tax law. The changes are proposed to take effect on 1
January 2021 and entail that some individuals, whose income was previously
tax exempt due to the so called 183-day rule, now will be subject to Swedish
income tax. This applies to situations of hiring-out of labour. A hiring-out of
labour situation occurs when an individual, employed by a foreign employer,
carries out work as an integrated part of the business activities of a Swedish
person. The Swedish person is then considered as the foreign individual’s
economic employer resulting in the foreign individual being subject to
Swedish income tax on income earned while working in Sweden, as if
employed in Sweden.

Due to transfer pricing rules on intra-group services, the new rules will in
some cases apply to short-term business travellers that are limited tax
residents in Sweden. In these cases, tax liability will arise for income earned
during business trips to Sweden. Swedish unlimited tax residents working
abroad can under some circumstances claim tax exemption in accordance
with the so called six-month rule or one-year rule for income earned through
their foreign employment relating to work carried out both abroad and in
Sweden. As a result, short-term business travellers employed abroad but with
unlimited tax residency in Sweden can claim tax exemption for income
related to work in Sweden in situations where limited tax residents cannot.

This thesis examines how tax residency status for short term business
travellers affect their effective taxation in Sweden. The current legislation is
analysed from an EU-regulatory perspective to determine if the rules comply
with the free movement doctrine. Further, the effect on short term business
travellers of an economic employer view is examined and the proposed
legislation’s compliance with the free movement of labour is analysed.

This thesis concludes that the current Swedish rules on tax exemption for
short-term business travellers limits the free movement of labour within the
EU in cases where limited tax residents cannot claim tax exemption while
unlimited tax residents in a comparable situation can claim such exemption
in accordance with the six-month rule or one-year rule and the double taxation
on limited tax residents is not fully neutralized through the applicable tax
treaty. It is further concluded in this thesis that an economic employer view
will increase the number of cases where the free movement of labour is
limited through discrepancies in tax exemption doctrines for short-term
business travellers depending on their tax residency status.}},
  author       = {{Huitfeldt, Fredrik}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{183 dagar eller sex månader? - Svensk beskattning av tjänsteresenärer med ett formellt respektive ekonomiskt arbetsgivarsynsätt i ett EU-rättsligt perspektiv}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}