The European Commission has found that Sweden’s legislative proposal to introduce a risk tax on large credit institutions does not constitute State aid. The proposed risk tax will apply to credit institutions with total liabilities exceeding €15 billion (SEK 150 billion). This represents around 90% of the aggregated balance sheet total of credit institutions in Sweden.
Such large institutions could cause significant indirect costs for the Swedish society, should a new crisis in the financial sector occur. The risk tax therefore aims at improving Sweden’s ability to cope with the indirect costs stemming from a potential financial crisis. The Commission has assessed the Swedish risk tax and has concluded that it neither confers a selective advantage to the entities to which the risk tax does not apply nor constitutes an attempt to circumvent EU State aid rules. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the measure does not constitute State aid under EU rules.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.56348 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.