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INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: Three key dates that could change your household budget

The Local's editor gives you a roundup of the week that's been in our Inside Sweden newsletter.

Published: 2 September 2023 07:06 CEST
Inside Sweden: Three key dates that could change your household budget
Sweden's next budget will be revealed this month. Here's what it looked like when Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson presented it to parliament last year. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Hej,

There are plenty of things happening in Sweden this month, at least three of which may have a big impact on your household budget. We have, as usual, rounded them all up in an article for members of The Local, but here’s a short list:

  • September 12th: Deadline to pay any tax arrears you owe
  • September 20th: New budget bill to be revealed
  • September 21st: New interest rate hike expected

I’m personally keeping my eye on the interest rate announcement, as I’m still trying to sell my old house, battling a painfully slow-moving housing market.

Is it a buyer’s market at the moment?

On the one hand, buying something now may be a risky move, as interest rates are expected to keep rising in Sweden a little while longer – you don’t want to end up with a huge mortgage that you’re suddenly not able to pay off. 

On the other hand, the slow market means that sellers are getting more and more desperate, so it may even be possible for you to put in an offer below the asking price – a practice known as skambud in Swedish, “shameful bid”.

In other news

Why does Sweden allow Quran burnings? 

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage and Becky Waterton, as well as Julia Agha, publisher of the Arabic-language news service Al Kompis.

Yes, you read that right, The Local’s Sweden in Focus podcast is back from the summer hiatus. What topics would you like us to cover this season? If you have time to fill out our survey to answer that question, it will be much appreciated. 

Sweden’s tourism association in a remarkable change-of-strategy this week announced it would try to cut tourist numbers to some of the country’s most popular mountains by closing restaurants and reducing opening hours.

There’s a reason: the area has become so popular with tourists in recent years that it’s affecting reindeer herding. The tourism association said it wanted to create a sustainable future for hiking, outdoor life as well as the Sami community.

A new director-general of the Swedish Migration Agency will start her job later this month. Here’s what we know about her so far, and we will obviously continue to keep a close eye on the government’s migration “paradigm shift” as well as how well the Migration Agency manages to cut waiting times. 

Speaking of which, we update this article every so often to keep readers up-to-date on the progress of potential changes to residence permits and so on. 

India is growing in popularity among Swedish businesses, a new survey suggests. We published the latest issue of The Local’s Indians in Sweden newsletter this week, which was guest edited by Manu Uniyal. 

What’s the best place for an autumn getaway in Sweden? Let’s hear your thoughts and we’ll try to use readers’ tips in a future article on The Local.

Have a great weekend,

Emma

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.

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For members

INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: Four key dates in June for your personal finances

The Local's editor Emma Löfgren rounds up the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.

Published: 1 June 2024 08:12 CEST
Inside Sweden: Four key dates in June for your personal finances

Hej,

June might be a month when people would rather stop thinking of financial planning and instead start looking forward to their summer holidays, but actually, it’s an important month this year.

The past few years have been tumultuous to say the least in terms of personal finances, and I can tell just from our own traffic data that it’s a topic that’s top of mind for a lot of people right now.

There are a few dates coming up that are worth keeping an eye on.

First, if you haven’t yet received your tax rebate, it should drop into your bank account at some point between June 4th and 7th, assuming your eligible, so that’s a nice early summer boost.

On June 14th, we’re expecting Statistics Sweden to release the inflation data for last month, giving us a rough idea of where the economy is heading. I’m particularly curious to see whether Sweden did indeed experience a combined Eurovision and Taylor Swift effect on inflation in May.

On June 18th, Statistics Sweden will release its salary figures for 2023 on June 18th.

This may not sound like a big deal, but these are the figures which affect the salary threshold for work permit applicants in Sweden.

The most recent figures from June last year put the median salary at 34,200 kronor, meaning that work permit holders applying for a new permit or an extension need to earn 80 percent of this – 27,360 kronor – to qualify for a permit.

From June 18th, the median salary figure will (most likely) rise, meaning that the threshold for a new work permit will also rise.

On June 27th, Sweden’s Riksbank central bank is set to make its next announcement on Sweden’s key interest rate, just one month after it lowered the rate for the first time in eight years.

Having said that, Riksbank governor Erik Thedéen made it clear that the bank is not planning on lowering interest rates, stating there would need to be “very large changes” to even begin to discuss it in June – and unexpectedly low inflation figures for May would not be enough on their own.

In other news

Sweden is (usually) the perfect country to visit in summer – long, warm days that never really turn into night, but not as suffocatingly hot as southern Europe. Will that be the case this year?

Weather isn’t the only thing to consider when planning a trip to Sweden this summer.

The government is pushing ahead with scrapping tax on investment savings accounts (known as ISK accounts – a popular type of account in Sweden) with less than 300,000 kronor of savings.

Foreigners who move to Sweden on their partner’s work permit are often at a disadvantage compared to their partner, not always having a job lined up or the same access to a professional network. What can Sweden and Swedish companies do to help them integrate?

Countries that don’t compile stats on ethnicity aren’t doing enough to combat racism, according to the UN and EU. So why are officials in Sweden showing no signs of following their recommendations?

There’s more to Sweden than meatballs and kebab pizza, as this list of the country’s 22 Michelin-starred restaurants shows.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently revealed plans to introduce compulsory national service, referencing Sweden as an inspiration for this. But how does national service work in Sweden?

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Best wishes,

Emma

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.

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