The Swedish Tax Agency has now issued a statement linked to the Government's proposal for liquidity enhancement on the tax account. The statement indicates that the Swedish Tax Agency will not apply for director's liability for the unpaid taxes and charges covered by the deferral, regardless of when the postponement has been sought and granted.
Under current law, there is a tax representative liability when a legal entity fails to pay its taxes and fees. The implication of this is that a representative of a legal entity, along with the legal entity, becomes liable to pay the tax and fees if these have not been paid intentionally or through gross negligence. The due date for payment liability is when the tax or fee would have been paid.
A legal entity granted a deferral receives a temporary relief from payment, but this does not affect the existence of the tax claim. There is also a prohibition against applying for representative liability during the period the legal entity has a deferral, and in some cases, a deferral may prohibit the application for representative liability even after the deferral has been lifted.
However, the Swedish Tax Agency have now stated in their opinion that Taxes and fees covered by the temporary deferral, but not paid at the end of the deferral period, will as a general rule not be affected by the rules on representative liability. This is irrespective of whether the deferral was applied for and granted before or after the original due date of the tax. However, it should be noted in a small parenthesis that in isolated and very special cases, the Swedish Tax Agency may apply for liability of representatives against a representative who has acted intentionally and clearly exploited the opportunities to be granted temporary deferral.
If you have questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact your Moore contact person or your local Moore office.
