Swedish Inheritance and Gift Taxation (1885–2004)

Modern inheritance taxation was introduced in Sweden in 1885, in the form of a single tax—the 1884 Stamp Ordinance. Various kinds of duties and fees on estates, inheritances, and wills had existed earlier, but only for small and specific parts of the tax base and population strata. 1 This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the evolution of Swedish gift, inheritance, and estate taxes from 1885 until 2004 when they were abolished.