The new Danish tax regime -Attitudes and opinions of different Swedish interested parties

Abstract

On January 1, 1999, Denmark introduced a new tax regime. Among other things it included less stringent tax laws in regards to dividends. This has been acknowledged around Europe, and Denmark is, with their new favorable laws, now a strong contender in the race of attracting holding companies.

Whereas if this new regulation will hold strong against pressure from the EU and the tax harmonization process that is ongoing by means of the Code of Conduct, introduced in 1997, is still to be determined. The question is whether this new legislation will be classified as harmful tax competition or not. Pending the decision, the legislation has received a great deal of attention because favorable tax laws such as this new Danish tax regime is of importance to different interested parties such as multinational companies, financial analysts, tax consultants, and state authorities. Positive or negative, they are all affected by changes in nations tax laws.

Various Swedish interested parties are affected in different ways, but despite the fact that Denmark now offers a more lenient tax regulation, in regards to dividends, they claim that they are not highly affected. As can be concluded from our research, the government is the one interested party that has taken most consideration and action in relation to the new Danish tax regime. Depending on the result from the Code of Conduct, we expect to see changes in the various interested parties' behavior, and only the future can tell us what the changes may be.