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Autonomous with Right to Levy Taxes
Swedish municipalities and county councils have designated responsibility for providing the major part of public services. They have considerable autonomy and independent powers of taxation.

Combining macroeconomic stability and growth

Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities and 20 county councils, the latter primarily responsible for healthcare. Municipalities are accountable for other kinds of public service related to the inhabitants and their immediate environment. There is no hierarchical relation between municipalities and county councils. They are both self-governing local authorities, subjected to different activities.
The national parliament, the Riksdag, is the supreme political decision-making body.
Three democratic spheres
General elections are held every four years, in which political party representation in municipal and county council assemblies as well as national parliament are determined.
In local and regional conventions there is a long tradition of consensus, making it common for political parties to co-operate and form majorities across party political boundaries.
Structure of Swedish public spending.
Long tradition of local self-governing

Local self-government and independent right to levy taxes form part of the Swedish constitution. Swedish municipality’s and county council’s right to levy taxes has been established in local government ordinances since 1862. Taxes are levied as a percentage of inhabitants’ income, with rates individually decided by municipalities and county councils respectively. On average, the total tax rate is 30 percent, of which roughly 20 percent is municipality tax and 10 percent county council tax.
Page last updated 2011.10.13
Kommuninvest i Sverige AB (publ)

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