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Demokratiskolan
The Service sector card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 92 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEconomy & work
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Economy & work

Service sector

Restaurants, cleaners & electricians

The restaurant, the hairdresser, the cleaning firm and the tradesperson: the service sector is where most Swedes now work and where everyday entrepreneurship is most visible. The rules come from the central government and the EU, but it is the municipality (kommun) that grants the permits, carries out the inspections and charges for them.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · permits, oversight & fees · approx 35 %
  • Region · visitor economy & development · approx 5 %
  • State · taxes, deductions & alcohol law · approx 45 %
  • EU · services directive & food rules · approx 15 %

The central government sets the taxes and the laws, but the municipality is service's everyday authority: permits, inspections and fees. The general election steers the frame, the municipal election the encounter.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe everyday authority
The regionThe county's service climate
Central governmentThe taxes & the deductions · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The environmental and public health committee (miljö- och hälsoskyddsnämnd), the permits unit and the building committee (byggnadsnämnd).
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the regional development committee.
The Riksdag, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), Livsmedelsverket (the Swedish Food Agency) and Tillväxtverket (the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth).
What do they decide?
Alcohol serving permits, food safety control, building permits for premises, and permits for outdoor seating and signs.
Visitor economy strategies, business support and skills supply for the service trades.
VAT, employer contributions, the RUT and ROT deductions, the Alcohol Act and the frame of food legislation.
Where are decisions made?
In committee meetings. Control results and decisions are official documents.
In the regional council and the development committee.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. Livsmedelsverket leads the control that the municipalities carry out.
Who pays?
Fees from the companies cover much of the oversight, the rest the municipal tax.
The regional tax plus development funds.
The central government budget. RUT and ROT are tax money that steers demand towards declared services.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Views to the committee, citizen's proposals (medborgarförslag), dialogue with the business office.
Regional election Take part in consultations (remiss) on the regional development strategy.
General election Respond to referrals (remiss), get involved in a trade or business owners' organisation.
EUThe EU's services directive makes it possible to offer services across the whole union, and the food rules are common. Influence it in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A restaurant opens on the square
  1. EU

    Common rules for food and services

    Food legislation is fundamentally European and the services directive gives the right to offer services across borders. The hygiene requirements in the kitchen are the same in Sweden as in Spain.

  2. State

    The Riksdag sets the taxes and the Alcohol Act

    The VAT on food and restaurant service, the employer contributions and the Alcohol Act's requirements on anyone who wants to serve beer and wine are decided nationally.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the taxes that decide what a restaurant bill costs.

  3. Municipality

    The permits are examined in the municipal hall

    The food business is registered with the environmental administration (miljöförvaltning) and the alcohol serving permit is examined by the municipality, which obtains statements from the Police among others. The outdoor seating needs a permit for the municipality's land. A refusal of the alcohol serving permit can be appealed to the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt).

    Point of influence

    The municipal election steers fees and processing times, and neighbours can give their views when permits are examined.

  4. Municipality

    The inspector knocks on the door

    The municipality's food inspectors come unannounced and check hygiene, temperatures and routines. Serious shortcomings can close the kitchen.

    Point of influence

    Control reports are official documents. Anyone can request them or report suspected shortcomings.

  5. Your everyday life

    The table is booked

    Opening night is fully booked. The VAT on the bill, the permit in the window and the inspection in the kitchen are all decisions made in democratic order, by politicians who can be voted out.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which service in your town would you miss most if it disappeared?

  2. A restaurant needs permits from several directions before the first guest. Where would you simplify, and what should remain?

  3. The RUT deduction subsidises cleaning and gardening with tax money. Who wins and who pays?

  4. What matters most to you when you choose a tradesperson or a restaurant, and how do you check them out?

  5. The service trades are often the first job and sometimes the whole career. How are they valued in society, and how should they be?

Glossary

Serveringstillstånd
The municipality's permit required to serve alcohol, with requirements on good order and sound finances.
Livsmedelskontroll
The municipality's unannounced inspections of kitchens and shops, coordinated by Livsmedelsverket.
RUT-avdrag
A tax reduction for household services such as cleaning, moving and gardening.
ROT-avdrag
A tax reduction for repairs and rebuilding carried out by tradespeople.
Tjänstedirektivet
EU rules that make it easier to offer services in other member states.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.