Domestic Bliss

Swedish Social Democrats are very divided on the issue of household or domestic services (e.g. hiring someone to clean windows or perform regular cleaning services in one's home). At the moment there are no subsidies for such services although a couple of years ago Sweden experimented with a tax deductible for carpenting and other building services (mostly as a market stimulation measure). In a debate article in yesterday's DN, two local Social Democrats (Lena Micko and Mattias Ottosson) in the region of Östergötland demand tax deductions for domestic services. Not just cleaning but a wide selection of services in the home such as changing curtains or gardening should be included to make it easier for families with small children in their every-day lives or allow elderly to stay in their own homes longer. Micko and Ottosson estimate that a tax reduction could create 10,000 new jobs (the figure is based on estimates based on Finland where tax subsidies on domestic services were introduced a few years ago). I am very much in favour of their proposal.

In "Give us household services instead of moralising" they argue that Sweden (mainly the Social Democrats and the left) needs to move beyond arguments that is it wrong or obsolete to hire help in one's home. Society legitimises childcare as a perfectly normal service parents buy (of course pre-school is mainly about providing our children with education but part of the day is plain care) but if parents rather want to spend some time with their children and contract out building or cleaning, they are "punished" by having to pay a firm quite a substantial amount (unless they find someone on the black market). Moreover, the government has created so-called "plus jobs" where unemployed people are hired by the municipalities (subsidised by the government) to in effect perform domestic services for e.g. elderly.

Like Micko and Ottosson I do not believe that providing domestic services is a second class job and that it would mean going back to a situation with masters and servants. What is the difference between cleaning an office or a classroom and a private home? As long as workers are treated as professionals and have rights, I do not see a problem. It is also still a fact that women are more likely to cook, clean, etc. - in many ways women are working double - and if a tax subsidy could facilitate the lives of many women and ultimately lead to more equality in the home and in the labour market, I am all for it.

Presently there are too many regulations and means testing for domestic services. Not all people work for benevolent employers who offer domestic services as an extra benefit (which for the company is deductible). Many use "gray" or "black" services, i.e. persons that they can hire and fire arbitrarily from one day to the other.

Jonas Morian has also blogged on this topic. He thinks that the issue may even decide the outcome of the September elections, basing his argument on the fact that the party or political bloc able to gain the most trust for its ability to create jobs will win the election. A substantially decreased employment payroll tax for the services sector or a similar tax deduction would in all likelihood stimulate the private demand for white services. A political initiative that would limit the black market for these services, create more white jobs and increase tax revenues would win many votes.