SWEDEN: Failure of a Cooperative Compliance Project?

This report outlines the Swedish cooperative compliance project Fördjupad samverkan - FS (enhanced collaboration) introduced in 2011 and the modified initiative relaunched as Fördjupad dialog – FD (enhanced dialogue) in 2014. It describes how the Swedish Tax Agency proposed an initiative that carried with it international success stories from similar projects, but in the Swedish version and context met with strong resistance and is now put on hold awaiting proposed changes in the law. This chronological trajectory teases out issues that impact tax compliance among large corporations and perhaps also among ordinary taxpayers in Swedish society. Based on these issues, I suggest eight aspects that have to be paid attention to when implementing cooperative compliance initiatives. These aspects seldom stand alone but are drawn upon in various combinations making criticism possible.FairTa