| Title | Sweden Wants to Fight Disposable Culture with Tax Breaks for Repairing Old Stuff | |
| Date | Wednesday September 28 2016, @11:18AM | |
| Author | janrinok | |
| Topic | ||
| from the return-of-mr-fixit dept. | ||
How often have you taken a gadget or a pair of shoes in for repair and found out that fixing it will cost more than buying a new version? Too often, that's how often. And Sweden is trying to fix this, by halving the tax paid on repairs and increasing taxes on unrepairable items.
The new proposals come from the ruling coalition of the Social Democrat and Green parties, and, if successfully enacted, would be accompanied by a publicity campaign to encourage Swedes to repair products instead of replacing them.
"If we want to solve the problems of sustainability and the environment we have to work on consumption," Sweden's finance and consumption minister Per Bolund told The Local . "One area we are really looking at is so-called 'nudging.' That means, through various methods, making it easier for people to do the right thing." Nudging might involve clearer signage to reach the recycling station, for example.
The proposed legislation would cut regular tax on repairs of bikes, clothes, and shoes from 25% to 12%. Swedes would also be able to claim half the labor cost of appliance repairs (refrigerators, washing machines and other white goods) from their income tax. Together, these tax cuts are expected to cost the country around $54 million per year. This will be more than paid for by the estimated $233 million brought in by a new "chemical tax," which would tax the resources that go into making new goods and computers.
In 2015, France passed a law requiring manufacturers to label products with information about how long spares will be available, and also requires free repair or replacement for the first two years of the product's life.
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