Spotify Technology co-founder Martin Lorentzon said he would leave Sweden immediately if the country introduces new wealth taxes, escalating concerns that proposals being debated ahead of this month’s election could drive entrepreneurs and capital abroad.
“Yes, absolutely,” Lorentzon said in emailed comments when asked whether he would consider moving. “I would prefer to stay, but such a tax would mean I have to leave immediately.”
The warning from the Stockholm-based billionaire comes as the country’s Left Party campaigns for a tax on billionaires and the Greens are proposing a separate levy on the wealthiest. Both are part of the center-left opposition led by the Social Democrats, which is ahead of the governing right-wing bloc in recent polls, and could wield influence over tax policy after the Sept. 13 vote.
A wealth tax is opposed by the current center-right government, as well as by Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson, who has ruled out restoring Sweden’s former wealth, inheritance and gift taxes. Even so, investors are trying to assess what compromises might emerge after the election.
Lorentzon, who has an estimated net worth of more than $11 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, urged politicians to consider higher taxes on capital or dividends instead.
“It benefits no one if entrepreneurs and job creators have to sell parts of their companies to pay tax,” he said. “It would mean fewer companies, fewer innovations, less investment in areas such as environmental and climate technology, fewer taxpayers and fewer shared resources for welfare. The tax is directly counterproductive.”
Lorentzon’s comments are one of the most dramatic indications yet of how some wealthy Swedes would react to the introduction of new wealth taxes. Nordic Capital executive Klas Tikkanen previously told Bloomberg that the proposals could produce “a real exodus,” while entrepreneurs and advisers have said some are already examining the option of relocating abroad.
Lorentzon said the discussions about new taxes have already done some damage by creating uncertainty. “I get a great many questions from entrepreneurs about whether it is still OK to start a company in Sweden,” he told Bloomberg. “It was bad in the 1970s and 1980s, and it is just as bad today.”
In an opinion piece published in Expressen on Saturday, Lorentzon said he supports progressive taxation but opposes an annual levy on wealth. Such fortunes often consist of illiquid company stakes rather than cash, he argued, meaning founders could be forced to sell shares to meet their tax bills.