Minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet
The minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet in
Background
The affair concerns several key pieces of Swedish law, politics and society:
- Domestic help:
- A person who hires someone do work for them is required to report this to the tax authorities and pay a proportion of the wages to the tax authorities (the so-called "employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution", "Arbetsgivaravgifter" in underground economy.
- Politically the issue of tax breaks for domestic help (Swedish: pigdebatten) has been a divisive one in Swedish politics and society for several years.[3] The new coalition had put forward the idea of introducing such tax breaks,[4] and went on to do so in 2007.
- A person who hires someone do work for them is required to report this to the tax authorities and pay a proportion of the wages to the tax authorities (the so-called "employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution", "Arbetsgivaravgifter" in
- All persons who own a TV licence (Swedish: TV-avgift), if several people live in a household it is enough to pay a single licence. It is a crime for the owner of a television not to pay the TV licence, and punishable with a fine. Previous convictions indicate that the fine is between 1,000 and 3,000 kronor, and the conviction rate has been approximately 50%. The fee is collected by Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB, a private corporation owned by the public service corporations through a non-profit foundation.[5]
- A Member of Parliament (MP) who loses their seat after an election is entitled to parliamentary compensation (Swedish: inkomstgaranti) in order to facilitate the transition from office. This compensation is reduced if the MP receives compensation from another source, such as a salary or other income, the parliamentary compensation is reduced by the same amount. In essence the parliamentary compensation acts as an income guarantee during a transition period.[6]
- A Swedish MP is issued with a credit card from the Riksdag which is only to be used for expenses associated with official business, such as travel and accommodation.
Maria Borelius
Nanny
On October 7, 2006, the day after the
In explanation, Borelius stated that: "I'm a mother of four and I was running my own company. It never would have worked otherwise".[7] However, during interviews with the media Borelius stated that she "would never have been able to afford all the fees" if she also had paid the taxes. This was soon contradicted by Magnus Ljungkvist, member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and press secretary for the Social Democrats in the Stockholm County administration.[8] According to Ljungkvist's research into Borelius and her husband's income-tax returns, the couple earned 17 million kronor during the 1990s. Moreover, Borelius inherited a house worth four million kronor from her father in 1996. Ljungkvist, who used public sources, published his findings on his blog,[9] which was then picked up by mainstream media.[8] Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt initially stated that while he did not think that Borelius explanation was a good one, he still had faith in her abilities as a minister. "She has assured me that she considers it to be wrong to use 'black' services, and that she does not intend to do so in the future. I have tolerated that as an answer", the Prime Minister said.[10] On November 16, 2006 the prosecutor in the case decided to drop any charges against Borelius relating to the matter of untaxed nannies.[11]
TV licence
On October 11, 2006 it came to light that Borelius had not paid her
Other issues
On October 13, 2006 it was revealed that Borelius is also being investigated by the
Resignation
In the afternoon of October 14, 2006 Prime Minister
Cecilia Stegö Chilò
Nanny
On October 7, 2006, the day after the
On the same day Carina Hägg, a Social Democrat and Member of the Riksdag, announced that she was planning to file a complaint against Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt with the Riksdag Constitutional Committee in order to examine how the Prime Minister recruited his ministers.[18] This proposed measure was soon seen as an abuse, or even a misperception, of the duties of the Riksdag Constitutional Committee; the Prime Minister is free to appoint anyone he wants for his cabinet and they all entered office at the same time as he did himself, so the allegation of straying from the Constitution in not checking out people's backgrounds in minute detail is very questionable, as was soon pointed out by newspapers, noted professors of political science and others.[citation needed]
TV licence
On October 11, 2006 it came to light that Stegö Chilò and her husband had not paid their
Resignation
On October 16, 2006 Stegö Chilò tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Reinfeldt.
Tobias Billström
On October 11, 2006, less than a week after he took office, it was revealed that
However, on October 12, 2006
Tobias Billström has also admitted using the credit card issued to him by the
Andreas Carlgren
On October 12, 2006
Anders Borg
On October 17, 2006 Anders Borg, Minister for Finance, admitted that he employed a female worker in his home without paying taxes. The young woman told Expressen that she worked for the Borg family as a nanny. Borg on the other hand is insistent that she was just a babysitter, and he doesn't believe he broke any laws.[28][29][30] Borg has also admitted he had employed several maids without paying taxes between 1997 and 2001. He has also admitted that his family used the services of a young woman from Poland, and that the girl was an illegal alien without permission to work in Sweden.[31] On November 16, 2006 the prosecutor in the case decided to drop any charges against Borg relating to the matter of untaxed nannies.[11]
Radiotjänst police complaint
On October 19, 2006 it was revealed that Christina Jutterström, CEO of the public service broadcaster Sveriges Television, was also involved in the decision to file a police complaint against Maria Borelius, Tobias Billström and Cecilia Stegö Chilò since Jutterström also is chairman of the board of Radiotjänst i Kiruna. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt commented that he considered it special treatment of persons who are of interest with the media. Lars Lindberg, CEO of Radiotjänst, responded that this case is prejudicial since no one has previously admitted possession of a television retroactively. Eva-Lena Jansson, a Member of Parliament for the Social Democrats, reported the issue to the constitutional committee of the Riksdag since she wanted it to be determined if the Prime Minister's comments were to be considered ministerial interference in the affairs of a government agency (Swedish: Ministerstyre). Former Minister for Justice Thomas Bodström has also stated that he considers the comment inappropriate.[5][32]
Timeline
- October 6, 2006 – The new cabinet is announced. Maria Borelius and Cecilia Stegö Chilò voluntarily disclose the fact that they have used domestic workers without paying employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution (Swedish: arbetsgivaravgifter).
- October 11, 2006 – It is revealed that Borelius, Stegö Chilò and TV licencesfor the last 2 months, 16 years and 10 years respectively. It is also revealed that Carl Bildt has a financial interest in Russian oil and gas.
- October 12, 2006 – Andreas Carlgren admits to have received 130,000 kronor too much from the parliamentary income guarantee.
- October 13, 2006 – Swedish Financial Supervisory Authorityfor financial irregularities. Revelations regarding Borelius' husband's ownership of property.
- October 14, 2006 – Further revelations regarding Borelius' husband's property ownership, Maria Borelius announces her resignation.
- October 16, 2006 – Per Winborg, head of the Swedish Transport Workers' Union (Member of Parliament for the Social Democrats, files a complaint with the Riksdag Constitutional Committee regarding PMReinfeldt's methods of recruiting ministers. Cecilia Stegö Chilò announces her resignation.
- October 17, 2006 – Tobias Billström announces that he intends to remain in office and has no intention of resigning.
- October 19, 2006 – Member of Parliament for the Social Democrats, files a complaint with the Riksdag Constitutional Committee regarding PM Reinfeldt's comments on Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB's police complaint.[33]
- October 20, 2006 – Member of Parliament for the Green Party, files a complaint with the Riksdag Constitutional Committee regarding Bildt's private economic interests.
- November 16, 2006 – Chief Prosecutor Kent Madstedt decides not to initiate an investigation against Maria Borelius, Cecilia Stegö Chilò and Anders Borg as regards domestic help and unpaid taxes, citing among other factors a lack of evidence and that none of the alleged employees have come forward and admitted participation.[34]
See also
- American politicians:[35]
- Robert Bork (gave rise to the verb "to Bork")
- Nannygate matter of 1993
- Linda Chavez
- Bernard Kerik
- Harriet Myers
- Vetting
References
- ^ "Nannygate" ger eko i omvärlden, Dagens Nyheter, October 18, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Så uppmärksammas skandalen i världsmedier, Expressen, October 15, 2006 (in Swedish)
- op-ed piece by four major union leaders also supporting measures, October 21, 2005 and Börja om – med allt!(in Swedish) reply to the latter article by well-known Socialist editorialist Göran Greider, arguing vehemently against the proposal, October 25, 2005
- ^ One in four would pay for a cleaner (in English)The Local, October 3, 2006.
- ^ a b SVT-chefen beslutade om polisanmälan, Dagens Nyheter, October 19, 2006 (in Swedish)
- Riksdagwebsite (in Swedish)
- ^ a b Ministers admit nanny tax dodges Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, October 7, 2006 (in English)
- ^ a b Bloggaren som fällde Borelius, Aftonbladet, October 14, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Magnus Ljungkvists blog (in Swedish)
- ^ Minister who skipped nanny's tax 'earned millions', The Local, October 10, 2006 (in English)
- ^ a b c Ingen brottsutredning mot finansministern, Aftonbladet, November 16, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ a b Ministers reported to police for unpaid TV licences Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, October 13, 2006 (in English)
- ^ a b Pressure grows on Swedish trade minister, The Local, October 13, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Lyxbostad nummer 3 Archived 2006-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Aftonbladet, October 14, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Borelius resigns, The Local, October 14, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Sweden's trade minister to quit, BBC News, October 14, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Swedish 'tax dodge' minister quits (in English), CNN, October 14, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Kritik och anmälningar hopas, Svenska Dagbladet, October 15, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ New culture minister skipped TV licence fee Archived 2007-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, October 11, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Second Swedish minister resigns Archived 2012-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, October 16, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Cecilia Stegö Chilò avgår, Svenska Dagbladet, October 16, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Fler ministrar betalar inte licens (in Swedish), Svenska Dagbladet, October 11, 2006.
- ^ "I've got no explanation" – culture minister, October 11, 2006 (in English)
- ^ Ministers reported to police for unpaid TV licences Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine (in English), The Local, October 13, 2006.
- ^ "Jag tänker inte avgå", Dagens Nyheter, October 17, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Svart hemhjälp känd av Reinfeldt (in Swedish), Dagens Nyheter, October 7, 2006.
- ^ Minister admits false income details (in English), The Local, October 12, 2006.
- ^ Finansministern anlitade svart städhjälp, Aftonbladet, October 17, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Anders Borg: ”Ingen allvarlig förseelse”, Aftonbladet, October 17, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Hon fick svart lön, Aftonbladet, October 17, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Anders Borgs städhjälp saknade arbetstillstånd, Dagens Nyheter, October 18, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Reinfeldt KU-anmäls för uttalande om Radiotjänst, Dagens Nyheter, October 19, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Reinfeldt KU-anmäls för uttalande om Radiotjänst, Dagens Nyheter, October 19, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Ingen brottsutredning mot finansministern, Dagens Nyheter, November 16, 2006 (in Swedish)
- ^ Tufft vara politiker i USA, Svenska Dagbladet, October 22, 2006 (in Swedish)