Investor Tax Agency has been chasing for years – Swedish Dagbladet

I NVESTOR has for many years zeroed corporate tax in subsidiaries Mölnlycke. Investors approach has several times led to the company upptaxerats of the Tax Agency, which can be interpreted as the power company moved into a gray area of ​​what is acceptable.

Photo: Robert Henriksson

Tax Agency’s recent crackdown Investor arrangements in Mölnlycke, which was made famous by SVT, is the result of many years of looking at the investment company’s high-end tax planning. It was just over two years ago as SvD audited Investor tax schemes. The audit found that the Investor systematically for many years zeroed tax in wound care company Mölnlycke Health Care, Gambro and in that time, partly owned debt collection company Lindorff.

• In Molnlycke using one shareholder. With an interest rate of 13.5 percent was eaten Mölnlycke profits efficiently absorbed by interest costs. Investor’s holding companies have not had to pay taxes on the interest income. Only in 2011 was the interest rate on loans to more than 1 billion. Mölnlycke tax shield has been effective. The company has built up large deficits that can be used to reduce taxes in the future, between 2008 and 2012 is about 1.5 billion. 2013 laid the man on the financing but it means that the investor can bring home the dividends from the company, dividends are tax-free because the investor is an investment.

• Lindorff, which is now selling were also provided with an effective tax shield by the owners Investor and Altor. It is also exactly the kind of fiscal approach, called interest turbines, which are widely used by venture capital companies, which heavily criticized. Especially for låneuppläggets sole purpose would be to reduce the tax and not because it really necessary for the business.

• Even in renal care group Gambro did not materialize corporate tax while Investor been the owner, according to information from the Swedish Tax Agency. Investor bought out Gambro in 2006 along with private equity firm EQT. Group dismembered and earlier this year, Investor sold the last part. Investor states that the yield on the Gambro deal was 19 percent per year, but the proportion of income coming from tax planning do not want Investor answer.

Tax Agency chose early focus on Mölnlycke. Initially questioned the authority of the high interest rate and upptaxerade Mölnlycke already a couple of years ago. Around 3-4 percent would be a more reasonable and the market rate, said Tax. Molnlycke won, however, the Administrative Court and the Administrative Court of Appeal. But the Swedish Tax Agency did not give up. The latest upvaluing now apply in 2013. That same year tightened the rules for income tax, which made it possible for the Swedish Tax Agency to tackle tax approach with new tools. Now it may be sufficient that the Tax Agency believes the order gives tax benefits to a decision on the tax reassessment to take place. The decision has, like previous attempts to tax reassessment, appealed by the Investor.

The Investor has been heavily criticized by the minority shareholders and the then Finance Minister Anders Borg of their tax planning. Mail Panama can be seen as a matter of course that if the only purpose of an arrangement is to reduce the tax so perhaps we should resist – at least if it is a large investment company that claims to take social responsibility.

There is a strong link between long-term value creation and sustainability mean Investor and it is clear that the wisdom of the words do not go together if you plan removed billion in taxable profits. Investor claims to also have taken responsibility and phased tax lay-ups. But it is obviously a way to go before the issue can be completely consigned to history, at least from the Tax Agency’s point of view.