sou · GSB324 · 2005-01-01 00:00:00 — Enligt utredningens mening måste hardshiptillägget i stor utsträck- ning betraktas som en schablonmässig kompensation för olägen- heter av olika slag och endast till en mindre del som en ersättning för faktiska merutgifter. Utredningen anser att ett hardshiptillägg bör finnas men att det bör beskattas. Av personalförsörjningskäl är det lämpligt att kunna betala ut ett hardshiptillägg genom ett tidsbegränsat påslag på lönen. Det är rimligt att en ersättning av det här slaget blir pensionsgrundande. Att hela tillägget beskattas förenklar dessutom administrationen och ger en större transparens i ett framtida utlandsvillkorssystem. Det är av grundläggande betydelse för utlandsvillkorssystemet att de utsända under en utlandsstationering skall kunna erbjudas samma villkor som i för barnens skolgång liksom för för- skoleverksamhet och barntillsyn. Denna princip har vad gäller skolkostnaderna – skolavgifterna m.m. – gällt . Prin- cipen bör enligt utredningen även gälla avgifter för förskola el. dyl. samt för ev. skolbarnomsorg på aktuella orter i utlandet. Enligt utredningens uppfattning bör de utsända få ersättning för avgifter i förskoleverksamhet på stationeringsorten för sina barn fr.o.m. att dessa uppnått ålder inom samma ramar som gäller för barn bosatta i i allmänhet. Utredningen anser vidare att de utsända skall få ersättning för avgifter för små barn i åldern 1–för barntillsyn i former som motsvarar svenska familjedaghem/öppen förskola (i dagligt tal dagis), fritidshem eller i de andra former som kan vara aktuella på stationeringsorten. Kostnaderna för avgifterna i fråga bör – i den mån de överstiger de normala avgifterna i , dvs. maxtaxan – betalas direkt av arbetsgivaren. Avgifterna skall inte tas upp till beskattning. Utredningen har inte funnit tillräckliga skäl för att föreslå att barntillägget – helt eller delvis – skall skattebefrias. Detta innebär att barntillägg som utbetalas enligt U-ALFA blir skattepliktiga. Genom utredningens ställningstagande renodlas merkostnads- principen och utlandsvillkorssystemet vinner i tydlighet. En lösning av bostadsfrågan för den utsändes och dennes familj är av självklara skäl en av grundförutsättningarna för att han/hon skall kunna och vilja ta på sig ett utlandsuppdrag. Utredningen föreslår att ersättning för bostadskostnader eller förmån av fri bostad på stationeringsorten som en statlig myndig- het tillhandahåller åt en utsänd arbetstagare även i fortsättningen skall vara skattefri. Det är viktigt att arbetsgivarens kostnader för bostäderna på stationeringsorterna hålls på en rimlig nivå. Arbetsgivarna bör utveckla budgetstyrningen och löpande anpassa bostadsnormerna till verksamhetsmässiga och ekonomiska realiteter. De av arbetsgivaren betalda resorna är av stor betydelse för att den utsände skall kunna hålla kontakt med hemlandet men också för att familjen skall kunna hållas samman. Utredningen föreslår att förmåner i form av fria resor som en statlig arbetsgivare tillhandahåller åt en utsänd arbetstagare eller dennes familjemedlemmar skall vara skattefria i den mån resorna föranleds av stationeringen utomlands. Utredningen rekommenderar parterna att minska kvalifikations- tiden för s.k. ensamståenderesa från 18 . Utredningen föreslår att flyttningsersättning till en anställd vid en statlig myndighet som lämnas i samband med förflyttning till eller från en stationeringsort utomlands eller mellan orter i utlandet inte skall tas upp till beskattning i den mån ersättningen inte överstiger tre fjärdedels prisbasbelopp vad avser den förflyttade, ett fjärdedels prisbasbelopp för en medföljande make eller sambo samt ett tiondels prisbasbelopp för varje medföljande barn. Samordning av normalbelopp och grundtillägg Enligt utredningens mening avser normalbelopp/traktamente och grundtillägg så pass olika slag av merkostnader att det inte är möj- ligt att finna en enkel formel för att samordna beräkningen av dem. Utredningen kan inte se förutsättningar för ökad kostnads- effektivitet eller fördelar från praktisk synpunkt med att försöka samordna beräkningarna av normalbelopp och grundtillägg. Det finns inte heller något sakligt behov av att RSV1 skall fastställa normalbelopp eller andra ramar för grundtilläggen. Mot den bakgrunden lämnar utredningen inte något förslag till hur en samordning skulle kunna genomföras. 1 () och de regionala skattemyndigheterna bildar en gemensam myndighet, . I betänkandet anges genomgående RSV. Det torde framgå av sammanhanget när avses. Det gäller tid efter . Regeringen följer upp den statliga arbetsgivarpolitiken och redovisar sina iakttagelser till . I det sammanhanget har regeringen möjlighet att följa upp hur kollektivavtalen utformas och tillämpas samt vilka arbetsgivarpolicies som utvecklas. Utred- ningen ser inte att ett genomförande av utredningens förslag skapar något behov av särskilda årliga uppföljningsinsatser utöver detta. Krävs en djupare utvärdering vid sidan av regeringens uppföljning kan granskningen göras av befintliga organ. Det är naturligt att i samband med översynen av utlandsvillkoren undersöker förutsättningarna att skapa ett gemen- samt regelverk och gemensamma riktlinjer för alla de berörda personalkategorierna inom . Möjligheterna till administrativa förenklingar bör uppmärksammas. är ett partsammansatt arbetsgivarorgan. Det är en av de allra sista kvarvarande myndigheterna av det slaget. Utredningen föreslår att skall upphöra med sin verksamhet vid utgången av 2004. Försäkringskydd för de utsända och deras familjer Det finns vissa brister i försäkringsskyddet för dem som är ut- landsstationerade enligt U-ALFA samt vid utrikes tjänsteresa. Utredningen förordar en lösning genom en utveckling av den s.k. URA-försäkringen. Kammarkollegiet bör få i uppdrag att utveckla en försäkringslösning som ger ett heltäckande personskadeskydd. Ikraftträdande, genomförande och kostnader De nya skattebestämmelserna skall tillämpas första gången vid taxering. För de som sänts ut före skall äldre bestämmelser i vissa fall tillämpas vid taxering. Härigenom ges de berörda skäligt rådrum och möjligheter att anpassa sitt konsumtionsmönster till de ersättningsnivåer och beskattningsregler som kommer att gälla. Enligt utredningens mening ges parterna med denna tidsram tid att genomföra förhandlingar om ett nytt kollektivavtal. Förhand- lingarna kan lämpligen börja efter en eventuell proposition . För utrikesförvaltningens och Sidas del ökar kostnaderna för avgifter enligt ett överslag med om U-ALFA inte ändras. Kostnaderna för utredningens förbättrings- förslag uppgår till . Såväl arbetsgivarna som de fackliga organisationerna har anled- ning att räkna på effekterna av skattereglerna och på olika alternativ till lösningar vad gäller avtalsfrågorna. Kostnaderna kommer som alltid att styra vad som är möjligt att uppnå. I have always had a weakness for foreign affairs. In accordance with its terms of reference the Commission on Overseas Allowances presents a comprehensive review of the conditions of employment, pay and allowance arrangements as well as tax rules that are applicable to employees in the and the development cooperation activities for which the (Sida) is responsible, as well as some attachés, who are posted abroad. The conditions of employment for employees in the development cooperation activities and attachés who are posted abroad are the subject of a separate collective bargaining agreement (U-ALFA). The allowances that are payable under this agreement are tax-exempt. In 2002, another collective bargaining agreement (URA) was concluded for all other government employees who are posted abroad. At the same time as this agreement entered into force, new rules relating to taxation of allowances payable to government employees serving abroad were introduced. Under these rules, allowances relating to expenses for housing, certain kinds of and school fees, as well as basic and accompanying person allowances, are exempt from tax. The new rules are not, however, applicable to employees who are covered by the U-ALFA Agreement. In 2001/02:18 the Government declared that the most rational approach when introducing new rules in this area would be to make the same rules applicable to all government employees serving abroad. The Government stated that this matter called for further analysis and that it intended without delay to study the conditions of employment and pay and allowance arrangements for the staff categories that are currently covered by the U-ALFA Agreement. The Commission was assigned the following tasks: to carry out a comprehensive review of the conditions of employ- ment, pay and allowance arrangements and tax rules that are applicable to employees in the development cooperation activities, as well as some attachés, who are posted abroad. to review the special tax rules that apply to these staff cate- gories and – to the extent that special rules are still necessary – to propose rules that define more precisely which allowances and benefits are tax-exempt and set cash limits on the amounts that are tax-exempt; and to examine the possibility of coordinating the rules relating to the calculation of overseas allowances and of standard amounts for cost of living increases, for example in connection with official abroad. Focus of the Commissions work The Commission has concentrated on proposing uniform rules on the taxation of allowances that are payable to all government employees who are posted abroad. This should, in the Commissions view, make it possible for the parties to adopt a single agreement on conditions for overseas service for government employees. In certain cases the Commission has submitted recommendations to the parties concerning the content of such an agreement. The Commission has not considered it necessary to propose any changes in the present mix of statutory and contractual provisions in this area. General observations and assumptions The staff assigned to represent abroad in future should continue to be as well-qualified as the representatives of comparable countries. A new package of conditions for overseas service that are applicable to all government employees should be prepared with reference to the specific demands made on the relevant staff categories in the and development coope- ration activities. These consist in the strain and higher additional expenses experienced by overseas staff, and their families, in connection with repeated postings abroad, which normally last for several years. The additional expenses and inconvenience are not as great in the case of staff who are only occasionally posted abroad. The conditions for overseas service must in future allow for a higher salary component in the overall compensation payable to overseas staff. This is important in view of the fact that the new pension system is based on the principle of lifelong earnings and that, under the government sector collective agreement on pensions, contributions and benefits are linked to pay. It can no longer be taken for granted that overseas staff will be accompanied by their spouses or partners. An overseas posting may well be detrimental to the spouses/partners career and involve loss of income, as well as loss of pensionable income. To make it possible in future to recruit overseas staff who have families and children it will be necessary to provide basic protection for accom- panying family members that makes up for this to some extent. There is a need for more individual solutions than is the case today. This will require a transition to a contract model under which the employer and the employee agree on terms and con- ditions for each posting as regards pay etc. and in which the allowances payable to the posted employee him-/herself and to accompanying family members should be specified in detail. The rules concerning tax exemption for allowances payable to Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Sida employees who are posted abroad have been discussed on several occasions in the last few years. It is now time to bring these discussions to an end by adop- ting rules relating to taxation and tax exemption that are consistent with the general principles on which the Swedish tax system is based. In the Commissions view, the foreign service and Sida need rules on the taxation of overseas allowances that are not continually questioned. The tax-exempt components of the package of conditions for overseas service should compensate overseas staff for additional expenses incurred as a result of working and living abroad. ever, the Commission considers it necessary, when assessing the tax aspects, to accept that compensation will have to be fixed with- out taking into account each individuals consumption patterns. The conditions for overseas service must ensure reasonable com- pensation for normal additional expenses incurred in connection with an overseas posting. Stipulating in detail how this money is to be used is neither possible nor desirable. To some extent, therefore, the system must be based on flat-rate payments. A system whereby every additional expense item paid for by overseas staff is reimbursed against receipt or paid by the diplomatic mission itself would involve too much administrative work. Nevertheless, direct payment by the employer of items that are currently included in flat-rate overseas allowances may be advisable in certain cases. Elements of a new package of conditions for overseas service It may be appropriate at this juncture to list the allowances and benefits that according to the Commissions recommendations should be included in a new package of conditions for overseas service. What allowances over and above their home salary are paid to overseas staff? Taxable allowances and benefits: Special service allowances, where applicable Hardship allowances (in hardship posts) Family allowances (in exceptional cases). Tax-exempt allowances and benefits: Reimbursement of removal expenses Free housing of a good general standard Rather generous concessions paid by the employer Additional expense allowances payable in cash to cover the in- creased cost of living at the post of assignment Comprehensive personal injury insurance for all family mem- bers, paid by the employer An accompanying person allowance payable in cash, where the accompanying person has or no income at the current post Pension compensation to the accompanying person, where the accompanying person has or no income at the current post Reimbursement of day nursery, primary/secondary or upper secondary school fees – where such fees are higher than those in . The Commission considers that the proposed conditions for over- seas service provide adequate compensation for the increased cost of working and living abroad. It is quite clear, even without speci- fying compensation and allowance levels, that the employers costs for overseas staff and their families are substantial. It should perhaps be mentioned that the recommended changes in conditions for overseas service will affect the salaries and allow- ances of individual employees. In some cases levels will be lower, while they will rise in others. One important aspect of our propo- sals is the focus on improved cost-effectiveness. The Commissions recommendations concerning conditions for overseas service The basic allowance is extremely complex and difficult to calculate. It is virtually impossible to say to what extent the compensation amounts correspond to actual expenses. It must, however, be said that simple solutions cannot always be found for complex issues such as those addressed by the basic allowance. It is, however, possible to simplify the concept of additional expense allowances and to make the compensation approach easier to understand. In the Commissions opinion, the basic allowance should be tax- exempt. Some changes will have to be made in order to determine the scope of tax exemption. It is not, however, either appropriate or feasible to quantify the various components of the basic allowance in the legislative text. That would in certain cases mean specifying more than 100 amounts. The Commission has indicated the extent to which tax exemption can be retained by means of recommendations to the parties, for example that an item can continue to be tax-exempt if it does not exceed the present amount specified in additional expense category 4. employers of the rules defining the extent of tax exemption that are recommended by the Commission will reduce the differences in compensation levels between different groups of overseas staff. The Commission considers this a beneficial effect in this context. In the Commissions view, the system of additional expense categories should be revised. The six categories should be reduced to four: 3.Administrative officers currently assigned to additional expense category 3 4.Administrative officers and clerical officers currently assigned to additional expense categories 2 and 1 The Commission does not propose any alterations with regard to the items food and transport in the basic allowance. They should continue to be tax-exempt elements of the basic allowance. We propose that the item domestic help be abolished. Con- sequently, the draft Act does not contain any exemption from taxation for this item. However, a tax-exempt element for additional expenses for domestic help – but only in certain postings and with regard to certain staff categories – should be included under the heading Special additional expenses in the basic allowance. It will be up to the employer (in connection with the collective bargaining process) to ascertain which postings are really in need of domestic help and how great the need is. Otherwise, domestic help should only be provided at counsellor level. The staff categories that are currently entitled to domestic help allocated directly by the Ministry (Heads of mission etc.) should continue to be so entitled in future. As regards special additional expenses included in the present basic allowance, the following ceilings should be placed on the constituent components: Distance from : three levels, i.e. , and per month. Service: the maximum amounts should be the levels set for the present additional expense category 4. Clothing: should for tax purposes be treated as pay and excluded from the basic allowance. Equipment: the maximum amounts should be the levels set for the present additional expense category 4. Miscellaneous: the maximum amounts should be of the items food and transport at each post. The average tax exemption ceilings on basic allowances – per month – for the various current additional expense categories can be estimated at approximately in category 1, in category 2, in category 3, in category 4, in category 5 and in category 6 (i.e. at Heads of mission level). Accompanying persons/spouses With a view to meeting future staffing needs, the conditions for overseas service should include compensation for accompanying spouses in the form of basic protection. This protection is appropriate in view of all the additional expenses that can occur where accompanying persons are involved. Basic protection should be paid to accompanying spouses who have or no income at the current post regardless of their income in prior to their departure. This protection should not be regarded as unemployment benefit or social assistance. The Commission considers that accompanying spouses allow- ances should be the same for all accompanying persons, regardless of the additional expense category to which the employee is assigned. In the Commissions view, it is reasonable to adjust the allowance to the cost of living level at the post in question. In view of the need to keep additional expenses under control there is, in the Commissions opinion, limited scope for exempting accompanying person allowances from tax. Apart from this, the Income Tax Act contains provisions restricting the extent of tax exemption for overseas staff who are covered by an URA Agree- ment. The Commission proposes that the maximum tax-exempt component of accompanying person allowances for spouses or partners should correspond to 1/6 of a price base amount for each month spent abroad (in 2004 prices). higher amounts that are paid out by the employer should be treated as pay. The Commission recommends that the employer concerned expand the pension solution provided by the present system, which has been presented to Parliament. However, an exemption rule should be introduced, since otherwise the premiums would consti- tute a taxable allowance for the posted employee. The maximum tax exempt amount should be 1/12 of a price base amount for each month spent abroad, which is the equivalent of in 2004 prices. The Commission proposes that the period during which previous gainful employment qualifies unemployed persons for payment of unemployment benefit should be increased from 7 years, as is the case at present, to 12 years for persons accompanying government employees posted abroad. Accompanying persons should enjoy protection of their entitlement to sickness benefit, which means that the rate of sickness benefit to which they were entitled prior to their departure from should be the same after their return. In the Commissions view, a hardship allowance should primarily be regarded as flat-rate compensation for various kinds of incon- venience and only to a lesser extent as reimbursement of actual additional expenses. There is thus not sufficient justification for a flat-rate tax-exempt allowance. This view is confirmed by the fact that hardship allowances are not tax-exempt under the tax rules that apply to the URA Agreement. The Commission is in favour of hardship allowances, but con- siders that they should be taxable. With a view to meeting future staffing needs it is appropriate to pay hardship allowances in the form of salary supplements. Such supplements should confer pension entitlement. Furthermore, taxing the allowance as a whole would simplify administration and make the future conditions for over- seas service more transparent. Offering overseas staff the same conditions as in when it comes to their childrens schooling and pre-school and childcare facilities is an essential feature of the overseas service conditions. As regards school expenses – school fees etc. – this principle has been in force for a long time. It should, in the Commissions opinion, also apply to pre-school fees etc. in overseas postings. This issue is also about providing a secure upbringing for the children. In the Commissions view, overseas staff should be entitled to an allowance for pre-school fees for their children at the post of assign- ment from the age of 4 where this is necessary to ensure that their childcare expenses are not higher than in . Overseas staff should also be entitled to an allowance for childcare fees for small children aged 1–4 in facilities corresponding to Swedish family day nurseries/open pre-schools, after-school care centres or other such facilities that exist at the post. Such fees should – to the extent that they exceed normal fees in – be paid directly by the employer. These fees should be tax-exempt for overseas staff. In the Commissions opinion, the arguments for tax-exempt, flat-rate child allowances whose purpose is to pay for various additional expenses for children – apart from pre-school and school fees – are untenable from a tax point of view since expenses for children are by definition living costs. Since families stationed abroad continue to receive Swedish child benefit, the additional expense of a cash child allowance is not justified. Overseas staff who are covered by an URA Agreement do not receive tax-exempt child allowances. The Commission has not found sufficiently good reasons for proposing that child allowances should be tax-exempt, either or in part.