Sweden Has `Crazy' Surplus as Soaring Tax Revenue Swells Coffers

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s surplus last year was more than twice as big as the country’s debt office estimated.

The largest Nordic economy posted a surplus of 61.8 billion kronor ($7.5 billion) in 2017, far surpassing a debt office forecast of 28.3 billion kronor made in October. The difference can be partly explained by the deficit for the month in December coming in at 69.6 billion kronor, which was more than 20 billion kronor below the estimate. 

Analysts at Danske Bank called the figures “crazy” in a Twitter post, saying the agency is “uncertain why coffers are flooding, prepayments or stronger tax base?”

The agency said in a statement that the “delay of statistics for tax revenue is quite long, but the deviation is likely to be partly explained by a stronger development of tax base development than expected. At the same time, there are no such large differences in the taxes debited preliminarily.”

Sweden’s economy has surged over the past years, helped by a record inflow of migrants, all-time low interest rates and a recovering global economy. The government in December estimated a surplus of 1 percent for last year and 0.9 percent this year.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.