The general tax system also applies to artists, whether employed, self-employed, or owning businesses. This means – among other things – that all costs incurred to earn an income are tax deductible, if the income is generated from professional activities. Self-employed artists face a number of problems within the current tax system: for example, basic pensions are calculated on the taxable income generated over their lifetime, and as most scholarships or grants are not taxable, they are not included in the overall total of lifetime income. For non-profit organisations, including foundations, taxation rules are beneficial, as long as the purpose of the organisation is for the common good, which includes purposes relating to arts and culture.
One of the few special regulations that exist for arts and culture is that of value-added tax on books; in 2001, the 25percent VAT rate on books was lowered to 6percent by the parliament.
The issue of corporate sponsorship in the arts has been under much debate in recent years, both in the media and in political fora. Culture and Business (Kultur och näringsliv) is a forum especially created to further debate, obtain contacts and experiences from joint projects, and to source financial contributions from the market.
Enabling tax deductions for donations to culture, science, and other forms of public good have been discussed repeatedly in the last few decades. The Government Commission on Cultural Policy (SOU 2009:16) concluded that such measures would greatly benefit arts and culture. It should be noted that the Commission’s expert from the Ministry of Finance publicly advised against this conclusion. The Commission for Incentives for Gifts, which published its report (SOU 2009:59) in 2009, was, furthermore, sceptical of such reforms in favour of any area, and entirely ignored all issues relating to arts or culture.
In 2023, a new government commission was appointed to present proposals in the area of tax deductions for donations and sponsorships for public good. Its first report (SOU 2024:90) was submitted in 2024 and included an overview of the current extent and roles played by such donations made by juridical persons. The report also proposed the introduction of such deductions made by legal persons, similar to the limited deductions already available for natural persons. In 2026, another report was submitted with a proposal to introduce tax deductions for sponsorships of certain public goods, including culture, when these are benefiting the sponsoring company (SOU 2026:5). These proposals are now under consideration.
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