Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Beräkning av bruttolön vid nettolöneavtal - Vilken funktion har Skatteverkets ställningstagande efter 2021 års nya regler?

Tilander, Carl LU (2022) JURM02 20222
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Den andra november 2006 publicerade Skatteverket ett ställningstagande i syfte att klargöra frågan hur en bruttolön ska beräknas vid nettolöneavtal. Efter publicerandet har praxisutvecklingen skett i enlighet med riktlinjerna som presenterades i ställningstagandet. Skatteverkets princip för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas, nettolön = bruttolön – tabellskatteavdrag, har där-med varit vägledande för utvecklingen. Den första januari 2021 trädde nya regler i kraft avseende utländska arbetsgivares skyldighet att göra skatte-avdrag på ersättning de betalar ut för arbete i Sverige. Detta har resulterat i en ovisshet för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas för dessa arbetsgivare som omfattas av den nya regleringen.
I uppsatsen konstateras att... (More)
Den andra november 2006 publicerade Skatteverket ett ställningstagande i syfte att klargöra frågan hur en bruttolön ska beräknas vid nettolöneavtal. Efter publicerandet har praxisutvecklingen skett i enlighet med riktlinjerna som presenterades i ställningstagandet. Skatteverkets princip för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas, nettolön = bruttolön – tabellskatteavdrag, har där-med varit vägledande för utvecklingen. Den första januari 2021 trädde nya regler i kraft avseende utländska arbetsgivares skyldighet att göra skatte-avdrag på ersättning de betalar ut för arbete i Sverige. Detta har resulterat i en ovisshet för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas för dessa arbetsgivare som omfattas av den nya regleringen.
I uppsatsen konstateras att ställningstagandet haft ett väsentligt inflytande för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas vid nettolöneavtal samt för praxisut-vecklingen gällande just den frågan. Det finns ännu ingen praxis att tillgå avseende beräkningen av en bruttolön med anledning av de nya reglerna som trädde i kraft 2021. Detta innebär att ställningstagandet och principer-na som lyfts fram i praxis får anses vara vägledande för hur de nya regler-na ska tolkas.
Genom att studera ställningstagandet, praxis och förarbetena till de nya reglerna går att utläsa att en nettolön behöver beräknas om till en bruttolön för att kunna tjäna som underlag till arbetsgivaravgifter, inkomstskatt och liknande. Syftena bakom de nya reglerna motiveras utifrån att de ska för-enkla skatteinnehållandet för utländska arbetsgivare utan fast driftställe i Sverige samt öka konkurrensneutraliteten. De nya reglerna innehåller bland annat en regel som innebär att dessa arbetsgivare ska göra skatteav-drag med 30% i stället för skatteavdrag enligt skattetabell. Detta motiveras med att dessa arbetsgivare inte kan förväntas kunna tillämpa svenska skat-tetabeller korrekt.
Skatteverkets princip för hur en bruttolön ska beräknas är konstruerad uti-från skyldigheten att göra skatteavdrag på så vis att beräkningen utgår från tabellskatteavdraget. I de fall det finns ett SINK-beslut på plats som stad-gar att skatteavdrag ska göras med 25% i stället ska beräkningen utgå från SINK-beslutet. Dessa beräkningsmetoder har även bekräftats i praxis. Med anledning av detta torde de nya reglerna innebära att utländska arbetsgi-vare utan fast driftställe i Sverige får göra beräkningen med utgångspunkt i deras skyldighet att göra skatteavdrag. Detta skulle innebära att de kan beräkna en bruttolön baserad på ett skatteavdrag om 30% i stället för ett skatteavdrag i enlighet med skattetabell. Skatteverkets princip för beräk-ning av bruttolön bör därför kunna justeras och i stället få följande lydelse: Nettolön = bruttolön – skattesats motsvarande skyldigheten att göra skatte-avdrag.
Med anledning av de nya reglerna har även ett följdproblem uppstått. Det finns situationer då tabellskatteavdrag understiger 30% varför de arbetsgi-vare som omfattas av de nya reglerna kan tvingas göra större skatteavdrag än svenska arbetsgivare för samma lön. Utifrån OECD:s modellavtal och fördraget om Europeiska unionens funktionssätt förefaller något diskrimi-neringsförbud inte aktualiseras. Detta då reglerna inte torde aktualisera någon direkt diskriminering samt att skattesubjekten förmodligen inte be-finner sig i två objektivt jämförbara situationer. I de flesta fallen är de nya reglerna gynnsamma för de arbetsgivare som omfattas.
Slutligen konstateras att frågan hur en bruttolön bör beräknas vid nettolö-neavtal är i behov av ett klargörande. Det hade därmed varit önskvärt om Skatteverket publicerade ett nytt ställningstagande om hur en bruttolön ska beräknas med anledning av de nya reglerna. Det hade också varit önskvärt med ett klargörande från lagstiftaren om alla upptäckta följder av de nya reglerna är avsedda, eller om det skulle vara motiverat att revidera eller förtydliga vissa delar. (Less)
Abstract
On the 2nd of November 2006 the Swedish Tax Agency published a standpoint document with the purpose to clarify how a gross salary was supposed to be calculated based on a net salary contract. Since the publishing of the document, Swedish case law has developed in accordance with the principles laid out in the document. The principle set out by the Swedish Tax Agency, Net salary = gross salary – tax withholding according to tax table, has been vital to the development. On the 1st of January 2021, new rules went into force regarding the obligation for foreign employers, without a permanent establishment in Sweden, to withhold taxes on any remuneration the pay to an employee related to work performed in Sweden. This has resulted in an... (More)
On the 2nd of November 2006 the Swedish Tax Agency published a standpoint document with the purpose to clarify how a gross salary was supposed to be calculated based on a net salary contract. Since the publishing of the document, Swedish case law has developed in accordance with the principles laid out in the document. The principle set out by the Swedish Tax Agency, Net salary = gross salary – tax withholding according to tax table, has been vital to the development. On the 1st of January 2021, new rules went into force regarding the obligation for foreign employers, without a permanent establishment in Sweden, to withhold taxes on any remuneration the pay to an employee related to work performed in Sweden. This has resulted in an uncertainty regarding how a gross salary is meant to be calculated by employers covered by the new regulations.
This thesis concludes that the standpoint document has had an unquestionable impact on the development on case law regarding the gross salary calculation an on the calculation itself. Any new case law is yet to be published since the new regulations went into force in 2021. This means that the standpoint document and the principles laid out therein remain crucial for interpreting the new regulations.
By studying the document, case law and the preparatory works to the new regulations, one can ascertain that the common point for the calculation is employer obligations. More specifically that the gross salary is the basis of the employers’ obligations regarding employer fees and tax withholding. The purpose behind the new regulations is to simplify tax withholding for foreign employer without a permanent establishment in Sweden and to increase the competitive neutrality. For example, the new regulations state that these foreign employers are allowed to withhold taxes, based off of a percentage of 30%, instead of a percentage according to an applicable tax table. The reason for this is that foreign employers cannot be expected to know how to apply Swedish tax tables correctly.
The calculation principle laid out by the Swedish Tax Agency is based off the obligation to withhold taxes in the sense that the calculation is based on the tax deduction according to the tax table. Should there be a SINK-decision in place that states that the tax withholding should be 25% of the taxable income, the gross salary calculation would be based on the SINK-decision instead of the tax table. These principles have been confirmed in court. Since the new regulations state that foreign employers without a permanent establishment in Sweden should withhold taxes by 30%, instead of according to an applicable tax table, their gross salary calculation should be based on their tax withholding obligation of 30%. Therefore, the principle laid out by the Swedish Tax Agency could be rewritten as follows: Net salary = gross salary – taxes corresponding to the obligation to withhold tax.
The introduction of the new regulations has also triggered further questions. There are situations when the effective tax rate according to applicable tax table falls under 30%. This has led to the possibility of discrimination being triggered. However, based on the non-discrimination articles in the OECD model convention and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, any discrimination does not seem to be triggered by the new regulations. In most of the cases, the new regulations are beneficial to foreign employers.
Finally, the thesis concludes that the question on how to calculate a gross salary based on a net salary contract needs clarification. Therefore, a new document from the Swedish Tax Agency stating the agency’s standpoint on the matter would be much welcome. The same goes for the legislator regarding the new regulations and the questions that have arisen due to the sometimes not beneficial design of the rules. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
@misc{9104145,
  abstract     = {{On the 2nd of November 2006 the Swedish Tax Agency published a standpoint document with the purpose to clarify how a gross salary was supposed to be calculated based on a net salary contract. Since the publishing of the document, Swedish case law has developed in accordance with the principles laid out in the document. The principle set out by the Swedish Tax Agency, Net salary = gross salary – tax withholding according to tax table, has been vital to the development. On the 1st of January 2021, new rules went into force regarding the obligation for foreign employers, without a permanent establishment in Sweden, to withhold taxes on any remuneration the pay to an employee related to work performed in Sweden. This has resulted in an uncertainty regarding how a gross salary is meant to be calculated by employers covered by the new regulations. 
This thesis concludes that the standpoint document has had an unquestionable impact on the development on case law regarding the gross salary calculation an on the calculation itself. Any new case law is yet to be published since the new regulations went into force in 2021. This means that the standpoint document and the principles laid out therein remain crucial for interpreting the new regulations. 
By studying the document, case law and the preparatory works to the new regulations, one can ascertain that the common point for the calculation is employer obligations. More specifically that the gross salary is the basis of the employers’ obligations regarding employer fees and tax withholding. The purpose behind the new regulations is to simplify tax withholding for foreign employer without a permanent establishment in Sweden and to increase the competitive neutrality. For example, the new regulations state that these foreign employers are allowed to withhold taxes, based off of a percentage of 30%, instead of a percentage according to an applicable tax table. The reason for this is that foreign employers cannot be expected to know how to apply Swedish tax tables correctly. 
The calculation principle laid out by the Swedish Tax Agency is based off the obligation to withhold taxes in the sense that the calculation is based on the tax deduction according to the tax table. Should there be a SINK-decision in place that states that the tax withholding should be 25% of the taxable income, the gross salary calculation would be based on the SINK-decision instead of the tax table. These principles have been confirmed in court. Since the new regulations state that foreign employers without a permanent establishment in Sweden should withhold taxes by 30%, instead of according to an applicable tax table, their gross salary calculation should be based on their tax withholding obligation of 30%. Therefore, the principle laid out by the Swedish Tax Agency could be rewritten as follows: Net salary = gross salary – taxes corresponding to the obligation to withhold tax. 
The introduction of the new regulations has also triggered further questions. There are situations when the effective tax rate according to applicable tax table falls under 30%. This has led to the possibility of discrimination being triggered. However, based on the non-discrimination articles in the OECD model convention and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, any discrimination does not seem to be triggered by the new regulations. In most of the cases, the new regulations are beneficial to foreign employers. 
Finally, the thesis concludes that the question on how to calculate a gross salary based on a net salary contract needs clarification. Therefore, a new document from the Swedish Tax Agency stating the agency’s standpoint on the matter would be much welcome. The same goes for the legislator regarding the new regulations and the questions that have arisen due to the sometimes not beneficial design of the rules.}},
  author       = {{Tilander, Carl}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Beräkning av bruttolön vid nettolöneavtal - Vilken funktion har Skatteverkets ställningstagande efter 2021 års nya regler?}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}