What happened
Lomma municipal council has decided on a new budget for the years 2027–2030, presented by Moderaterna, Sverigedemokraterna, Centerpartiet and Kristdemokraterna. The decision means that local income tax will be lowered by ten öre per year over three years, from 19.54 to 19.24 kronor per hundred earned. The tax cut means a revenue loss for the municipality of approximately ten million kronor per year. At the same time, the municipality's financial surplus is expected to shrink and debt to double to just over two billion kronor by 2030 due to large construction investments.
Our analysis
Lomma's strategy is familiar: lower taxes to attract high-income earners and leave shared social responsibility behind. When affluent suburban municipalities compete for the lowest tax rate, it is in practice about building economic walls against the surrounding world.
The price of the lost revenue is never paid by those who get a few extra tens in their wallets. It is paid on the floor in elderly care and in classrooms. There, many new Swedes toil daily to keep operations running, often under heavy pressure and with scarce resources.
At the same time, Sverigedemokraterna show how empty their promises about welfare are. The party has previously said no to tax cuts, but pivots as soon as the door to power opens. When push comes to shove, care is sacrificed without hesitation for Moderaterna's tax policy.