Skatteverket

I received a familiar dark-blue envelope in my Texas mailbox the other day. The nice people at the Swedish tax authorities, Skatteverket, have tracked me down.

Actually, I was at least partially pleased to see the forms, as it proved at least that I correctly sent in my new address. And, reading the documents inside, I was not that upset to see what Sketteverket sent me.

I've posted previously about being a bit uneasy that my tax bill has been zero. Not that I mind, of course, but, knowing the tax regime in Sweden, I know that 'zero' is not a number they use very often. I had a nagging feeling that one day, some unknown bill would come due.

My dark blue envelope contained a förslag småhusenhet fastighetstaxering which is essentially a property tax proposal. It asked me to review their data about our little house and to update it if needed, as changes to the size or fittings of a summer house change its tax value. The homeowner fills out a survey about many elements of the property, and the answers are used to determine the tax base. The form's instructions are available in English on Skatteverket's website for those interested.

The good news for me is that our property and our little house was accurately recorded in Skatteverket's questionnaire. So my concerns about not being on the tax rolls are abated; I obviously did it right the first time. Secondly, since there haven't been any substantive changes to the house, there's no need for me to send anything in. Our new home value will be sent to us in July 2012.

It appears that new home construction has a 5-year tax holiday, so I have a couple more years before I start supporting the social state.