SHARE
COPY LINK

PRISON

Tax-evading Swedish pensioner ‘too old’ for jail

A 91-year-old Swedish woman who is "too old" to be sent to prison told Swedish Enforcement Authorities (Kronofogden) they could take her coffin once she passed away, claiming she had no other possessions to pay off her debts.

Tax-evading Swedish pensioner 'too old' for jail

“The house isn’t in my name, there is nothing they can take,” the woman told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

The paper reported that Ingrid had been charged with tax fraud on five separate occasions and was proven guilty each time, something that normally leads to a prison sentence. Due to her advanced age, however, she got away with probation and a hefty fine.

Ingrid claimed there was nothing the Enforcement Authority could take, since she was not the official owner of her home, but instead had another proposal for the authorities.

“They can have my coffin when I’m gone,” she said.

The woman started her criminal career in the sixties and since then avoided paying millions of kronor (1 million kronor = $152,100) in taxes to the Swedish state, leaving a number of bankrupted companies behind. She claimed her criminal activities were unintentional.

“I have worked like a dog my entire life and never purposely tricked any person or the state,” she said.

Swedish criminals over 65 years of age are handled with extra care when it comes to punishments. However, the crime rate among this particular group rose by 67 percent between 2002 and 2011.

A few weeks ago, Lillemor Östlin, 75, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for an aggravated drug offence. Statistically, she was one of the few elderly criminals who actually got sent to prison for committing a crime, Aftonbladet reported.

The Local/sh

Follow The Local on Twitter

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

PENSIONS

Reader question: Do I have to pay Swiss taxes on my foreign pension?

Questions about taxes and retirement in Switzerland are among the most common ones for foreign nationals living here. Here is what you should know.

Reader question: Do I have to pay Swiss taxes on my foreign pension?

Once you begin to work in Switzerland, your employer will withhold a certain portion of your salary towards the obligatory pension scheme — that is, the AHV / AVS (the first pillar) and occupational one, BVG /LPP, also known as the second pillar.

You will pay half and your employer the other half, with amounts of contributions depending on your income. (Some companies, however, are more generous, and contribute more than the obligatory half to their employees’ pension funds).

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about retiring in Switzerland 

Once you retire and start drawing first and second pillar pensions, you will have to pay taxes on it, as it is considered income.

(The only exceptions are certain types on the third-pillar private pensions). 

What about retirement funds you receive abroad?

If you have worked in your home country before moving to Switzerland and paid into a pension fund there, then yes, these pensions will be taxed as income in Switzerland — but only if this money is deposited into a Swiss bank account.

If, on the other hand, you keep these funds in a bank in another country and don’t transfer them to a Swiss bank, then they will be taxed there, but not in Switzerland.

But if you do receive your foreign pension in Switzerland, be ready to pay Swiss taxes on this money.

However, according to Moneyland consumer platform, “foreign old-age pensions are taxed differently, depending on whether they are comparable to Swiss pension funds or not. This will be decided by the tax office.”

This means that “withdrawals from pension funds which are considered similar to Swiss pension funds are taxed at the same reduced rate which applies to Swiss pensions when performed after you reach retirement age.”

‘Withdrawals’ is the key word here, because pension savings are not taxable while they are parked in a bank; you will pay tax on them once you withdraw these funds.

What happens if a foreign pension fund is not considered comparable to Swiss pension funds?

In such a case, assets held in the fund must be taxed as wealth and you do not benefit from lower income tax rates when you withdraw your assets.

READ ALSO: Does everyone have to pay Switzerland’s wealth tax? 

Keep in mind, however, that Switzerland has tax treaties with a number of countries.

Their goal is to prevent having to pay taxes — whether on retirement income or in general — both in Switzerland and your home country.

SHOW COMMENTS