En analys av regeringens utredning om carried interest
(2025) JURM02 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- Carried interest has been debated in tax law for most of the 2000s. This
concept, which forms part of the fees allocated to a private equity firm for
managing a private equity fund, results in asymmetric returns for certain key
individuals. The question of how this compensation should be taxed for the
recipient has been debated and, at the time of writing, remains a current issue.
In the Swedish income tax system, there are no specific rules addressing
carried interest, unlike in several other countries where such regulations have
been implemented. In 2024, the Swedish government initiated an inquiry
aimed at examining how this type of income could be taxed in a way that
corresponds to the taxation of closely held business owners.... (More) - Carried interest has been debated in tax law for most of the 2000s. This
concept, which forms part of the fees allocated to a private equity firm for
managing a private equity fund, results in asymmetric returns for certain key
individuals. The question of how this compensation should be taxed for the
recipient has been debated and, at the time of writing, remains a current issue.
In the Swedish income tax system, there are no specific rules addressing
carried interest, unlike in several other countries where such regulations have
been implemented. In 2024, the Swedish government initiated an inquiry
aimed at examining how this type of income could be taxed in a way that
corresponds to the taxation of closely held business owners.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how carried interest arises and how
it has historically been handled by courts and stakeholders. The inquiry
confirms that carried interest is a well-established model for determining
compensation for fund managers. The model allows key individuals within
the private equity sphere, in various ways, to invest in the fund. If the fund
yields a return above a certain predetermined threshold, these individuals
receive a return that exceeds their initial investment. Regarding the historical
processes, the paper finds that the debate has centered partly on whether the
income can be considered as remuneration for work, and therefore taxed as
earned income, and partly on how the various requirements in the closely held
company rules should be applied to the situation.
Furthermore, the paper aims to analyse the legislative proposal presented in
the inquiry, using findings from previous chapters. The inquiry is particularly
analysed considering the fundamental principles of the income tax system.
Among the conclusions drawn, it is clear that the proposed legislation could
contribute to greater predictability for the involved stakeholders. However, in
some respects, criticism may be directed at the fact that the taxation does not
fully "correspond" to the taxation of closely held companies. For many
individuals receiving carried interest, the proposal—if enacted into law—
would mean a less favourable tax treatment. Nevertheless, the inquiry has
been welcomed by several actors such as the Swedish Private Equity &
Venture Capital Association (SVCA) and the Swedish Tax Agency,
indicating a general desire to establish a predictable framework for fund
managers. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Carried interest har varit omdebatterat inom skatterätten under merparten av
2000-talet. Företeelsen vilken är en del av de avgifter som tillfaller ett
riskkapitalbolag vid förvaltande av en riskkapitalfond innebär en
asymmetrisk avkastning för vissa nyckelpersoner. Frågan om hur denna
ersättning ska beskattas hos mottagaren har debatterats och är i skrivande
stund fortfarande aktuell.
Vad gäller det svenska inkomstskattesystemet finns inga särskilda regler vilka
behandlar carried interest vilket har införts i flera andra länder. 2024 tillsatte
regeringen en utredning i syfte att utreda hur dessa inkomster kunde beskattas
så att de motsvarar beskattningen av fåmansföretagare.
Framställningens syfte är att utreda hur carried... (More) - Carried interest har varit omdebatterat inom skatterätten under merparten av
2000-talet. Företeelsen vilken är en del av de avgifter som tillfaller ett
riskkapitalbolag vid förvaltande av en riskkapitalfond innebär en
asymmetrisk avkastning för vissa nyckelpersoner. Frågan om hur denna
ersättning ska beskattas hos mottagaren har debatterats och är i skrivande
stund fortfarande aktuell.
Vad gäller det svenska inkomstskattesystemet finns inga särskilda regler vilka
behandlar carried interest vilket har införts i flera andra länder. 2024 tillsatte
regeringen en utredning i syfte att utreda hur dessa inkomster kunde beskattas
så att de motsvarar beskattningen av fåmansföretagare.
Framställningens syfte är att utreda hur carried interest uppkommer samt hur
det historiskt sett har hanterats av domstolar och aktörer. Av utredningen
fastslås att carried interest är en vedertagen modell för att bestämma arvodet
för fondförvaltare. Modellen innebär att nyckelpersoner inom
riskkapitalsfären, på olika sätt, erbjuds att investera i fonden. Om fonden
avkastar över en viss, på förhand bestämd nivå, erhåller nyckelpersonerna en
avkastning som är högre än deras initiala investering. Vad gäller de historiska
processerna finner framställningen att diskussionen har handlat dels om i
vilken mån inkomsterna kan sägas vara resultatet av förvärvsarbete som
således ska beskattas som tjänst, dels om hur olika rekvisit i
fåmansföretagsreglerna ska tillämpas på situationen.
Vidare syftar framställningen till att, med hjälp av de fynd som görs i tidigare
kapitel, analysera utredningens lagförslag. Särskilt analyseras utredningen
med hänsyn till inkomstskattesystemets inneboende principer.
Av de slutsatser som dras är det tydligt att lagförslaget kan bidra med en större
förutsägbarhet för de inblandade aktörerna. I vissa aspekter kan dock kritik
riktas mot att beskattningen inte ”motsvarar” fåmansföretagsbeskattningen.
För många personer som erhåller carried interest innebär lagförslaget, om det
blir lagstiftning, en försämrad skattemässig behandling. Utredningen har
dock välkomnats av flera aktörer som SVCA och Skatteverket, vilket visar på
viljan att få en förutsägbar situation för fondförvaltarna. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9189241
- author
- Björkquist Saldert, John LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- An Analysis of the Government Inquiry on Carried Interest
- course
- JURM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Skatterätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9189241
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-19 13:33:42
- date last changed
- 2025-06-19 13:33:42
@misc{9189241,
abstract = {{Carried interest has been debated in tax law for most of the 2000s. This
concept, which forms part of the fees allocated to a private equity firm for
managing a private equity fund, results in asymmetric returns for certain key
individuals. The question of how this compensation should be taxed for the
recipient has been debated and, at the time of writing, remains a current issue.
In the Swedish income tax system, there are no specific rules addressing
carried interest, unlike in several other countries where such regulations have
been implemented. In 2024, the Swedish government initiated an inquiry
aimed at examining how this type of income could be taxed in a way that
corresponds to the taxation of closely held business owners.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how carried interest arises and how
it has historically been handled by courts and stakeholders. The inquiry
confirms that carried interest is a well-established model for determining
compensation for fund managers. The model allows key individuals within
the private equity sphere, in various ways, to invest in the fund. If the fund
yields a return above a certain predetermined threshold, these individuals
receive a return that exceeds their initial investment. Regarding the historical
processes, the paper finds that the debate has centered partly on whether the
income can be considered as remuneration for work, and therefore taxed as
earned income, and partly on how the various requirements in the closely held
company rules should be applied to the situation.
Furthermore, the paper aims to analyse the legislative proposal presented in
the inquiry, using findings from previous chapters. The inquiry is particularly
analysed considering the fundamental principles of the income tax system.
Among the conclusions drawn, it is clear that the proposed legislation could
contribute to greater predictability for the involved stakeholders. However, in
some respects, criticism may be directed at the fact that the taxation does not
fully "correspond" to the taxation of closely held companies. For many
individuals receiving carried interest, the proposal—if enacted into law—
would mean a less favourable tax treatment. Nevertheless, the inquiry has
been welcomed by several actors such as the Swedish Private Equity &
Venture Capital Association (SVCA) and the Swedish Tax Agency,
indicating a general desire to establish a predictable framework for fund
managers.}},
author = {{Björkquist Saldert, John}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{En analys av regeringens utredning om carried interest}},
year = {{2025}},
}