Taxes make up the overwhelming majority of state revenues, which are used to maintain a high level of social services that have virtually eliminated structural poverty in the country. Sweden has a relatively high rate of personal income tax (ranging from about 30 to 60 percent), but taxes for businesses are quite moderate. Since the late 1990s there has been a shift away from tax on personal income and capital gains and toward taxing goods and services and social security contributions. These shifts grew out of policy changes first implemented in the 1990s to stimulate work and savings by cutting the marginal tax rates on earned income. Social insurance policies have been changed to encourage greater participation in the workforce, and pension reforms have been introduced that clearly link the amount paid into the pension system and the amount disbursed with the overall health of the economy. Transportation and telecommunications
Sweden has an extensive network of overland and air transport routes. In earlier centuries sea transport was dominant, land transport being carried on chiefly in winter, over snow and ice. Gothenburg and Stockholm are among the most important of some 20 ports handling foreign trade. The forest industry adjacent to the Norrland coast has its own harbours, which in winter are dependent on icebreaker services. The Swedish merchant fleet has been drastically reduced by competition from foreign ships charging lower rates. Ferry traffic between Sweden and its neighbours has grown tremendously and increasingly employs larger and more luxurious ferryboats.
In the first half of the 19th century a number of inland waterways, among them the Göta canal, were constructed. They soon became obsolete, however, as the state began in the 1850s to build the national railway network. Sweden soon ranked among the foremost countries in per capita mileage of railroads. Railroads in their turn met competition from the automobile, and since the 1950s many secondary rail lines have been closed. The centuries-old road network was rapidly expanded in the 20th century, and ever-better roads were built. Highways ran between Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö and connected the capital to the northern coastal region. Most households own at least one car. Local public bus transportation is well developed, but only Stockholm has a subway as the backbone of its local transportation system. Gothenburg has developed a tram system.
Göta Canal, in Sweden.Picturepoint, London
Air services are dominated by the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which is owned chiefly by the states of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The interests of SAS are concentrated on international aviation, but, directly and indirectly, it also dominates domestic service. The most important airports are in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.
The interests of the state in transportation and communications are wide. The railways are owned and run by the state, which also maintains bus traffic on a large scale.
As the telecommunications industry has grown in Sweden, so too have telecommunications improved, and the country is among the world’s leaders in Internet penetration, with a great majority of Swedes having online access. Government and society Constitutional framework
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. The constitution, dating from 1809 and revised in 1975, is based on the following four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, the Freedom of the Press Act, and the Riksdag (Parliament) Act. All the laws have been subject to amendment. The constitution is based on the principles of popular sovereignty, representative democracy, and parliamentarism.
The reigning monarch is the head of state but exerts no political power; the responsibilities of the monarch are ceremonial only. Succession is accorded to the firstborn child regardless of sex. The prime minister is nominated by the speaker of the Riksdag after consultations with party leaders and must be approved for office through a vote of the Riksdag. The prime minister appoints the other cabinet members. The cabinet is responsible for all government decisions.
The ministries are small, and they are not concerned with details of administration or implementation of legislation. This is handled by central administrative agencies, whose senior officials are appointed by the cabinet.
In the preparation of important measures to be considered by the government, the responsible minister normally calls upon a commission of inquiry to appraise the measure. The commission may often include politicians from opposition parties, representatives of labour, and scientists and civil servants. They produce a printed report that is sent to various agencies and organizations for official comments before it is presented as background material to government legislation.
The Riksdag, a unicameral parliament elected by the people for four-year terms, is the foundation for the democratic exercise of power through the cabinet. The Riksdag appoints its speaker, deputy speakers, and standing committees, in which parties are represented in proportion to their strength. All bills are referred to committees; the results of their deliberations are reported in printed form to the Riksdag in plenary session.
The Riksdag may call for a consultative (nonbinding) referendum on various issues; decisive (binding) referenda may be held on amendments to the constitution if demanded by one-third of the Riksdag. Local government
Local government is allocated to the kommuner (municipalities), each with an elected assembly and the right to levy income taxes and to charge fees for various services. Municipalities have a strong independent position. Streets, sewerage, water supply, schools, public assistance, child welfare, housing, and care for elderly people are among their responsibilities. Elections coincide with parliamentary elections.
Between the national and municipal government is a regional tier of 21 län (counties) headed by a county governor, appointed by the national government. Each county also has an elected council that has the right to levy income tax and that administers health care, certain educational and vocational training, and regional transport. Justice
The National Law Code of 1734 is still in force, although almost none of its original text remains. In modern times, moreover, a mass of special legislation has grown outside the code to cover new needs. Roman law has had less influence in Sweden than in most European countries. Since the end of the 19th century, much civil law has been prepared in collaboration with the other Nordic countries.
Primary responsibility for the enforcement of law devolves upon the courts and the administrative authorities. Sweden has a three-tiered hierarchy of courts: the district courts (tingsrätter), the intermediate courts of appeal (hovrätter), and the Supreme Court (högsta domstolen). District courts play the dominant role. A peculiar feature of these courts is a panel of lay assessors (nämndemän), who take part in the main hearings, primarily on more serious criminal and family cases. In such cases, the bench consists of a legally trained judge as chairman and three lay assessors. These panels are not to be confused with an Anglo-American or continental type of jury.
In the six courts of appeal (the oldest one established in 1614), cases are decided by three or four judges. Appeals against their decisions can be carried to the Supreme Court only if the case is deemed important to the interpretation of law. In the Supreme Court the bench consists of five justices (justitieråd).