Time for IT in the deduction box

On August 1, the route deduction was extended so that it is now also available for IT and moving services. IT&Telecom companies have been working for this for several years and it will not only increase the demand for this type of service in our member companies but also open up a whole new market. But the halving of the deduction may mean that there will not be as many jobs as hoped.

The extension of the deduction is part of the cross-bloc agreement on migration and integration policy from last fall. Almega and IT&Telekomföretagen are of course positive but at the same time share the concern with Företagarna and Arbetsförmedlingen that the ceiling for how much private individuals can deduct was halved at the turn of the year.

- We have been working towards this for years and it will not only increase the demand for this type of service in our member companies but also open up a whole new market.

This is according to Ellinor Bjennbacke, head of industrial policy at IT&Telecom, who notes that the practical consequences may be that people are forced to choose between cleaning or gardening services and help with installing the new router or operating system.

- This would mean that there would not be as many new jobs as is now hoped. It would be unfortunate if new jobs in IT, removals and gardening replaced jobs in the traditional sector.

A Demoskop survey conducted in 2013 on behalf of Almega and IT&Telekomföretagen clearly showed that the group that is both most affected by IT-related problems in the home and also most interested in buying tax-reduced IT services are people over 65.

- Many people nowadays solve their IT problems with the help of friends and family. There are no official estimates of the number of black market services. What is clear, however, is that there are few companies selling these services to private individuals because the price is too high.

In addition to the halving of the deduction, there are also concerns that the law is not flexible enough and open to adaptation as technology evolves and needs change.

- Technology is developing very fast. As it stands now, the deduction excludes repairs, guidance and advice provided outside the home, for example by telephone or digital means of communication. This is something that will need to be reviewed in the near future," concludes Ellinor Bjennbacke.

/Lotta Oom

This article was previously published on almega.se: Time for IT and relocation in the deduction box