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The minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet in Sweden is a political scandal which started on October 7, 2006 when the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt, which had been announced on October 6, immediately became affected by media allegations on past errors on the part of several cabinet ministers, in particular Maria Borelius, Cecilia Stegö Chilò and Tobias Billström. The affair centred on the use of domestic workers (nannies and maids) without paying employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution ((スウェーデン語:arbetsgivaravgifter)), unpaid TV licences and other issues. On October 14, 2006 Maria Borelius resigned after eight days in office, and on October 16, 2006 Cecilia Stegö Chilò resigned after ten days in office. Criminal charges have been filed against Borelius, Billström and Stegö Chilò. The affair has also been widely reported by the international press, with the British ''Financial Times'' dubbing it "Nannygate".〔("Nannygate" ger eko i omvärlden ), Dagens Nyheter, October 18, 2006 〕〔(Så uppmärksammas skandalen i världsmedier ), Expressen, October 15, 2006 〕 == Background == The affair concerns several key pieces of Swedish law, politics and society: * Domestic help: * * A person who hires someone do work for them is required to report this to the tax authorities and pay a proportion of the wages to the tax authorities (the so-called "employment (payroll) tax, employer's contribution", "''Arbetsgivaravgifter''" in Swedish). For employees born after 1940 this tax amounted to 32.28% of the wages in 2006. The part of the economy where such services are rendered without being reported to the tax authorities has been referred to as the informal economy or underground economy. * * Politically the issue of tax breaks for domestic help ((スウェーデン語:pigdebatten)) has been a divisive one in Swedish politics and society for several years.〔On the protracted discussion in this matter, see also (Vi håller på att arbeta ihjäl oss! ), an op-ed piece pleading for domestic tax-breaks, published at right-wing site ''Smedjan'' of the ''Timbro'' think-tank, September 23, 2004, ("S måste ompröva inställningen till hushållsnära tjänster" ) , op-ed piece by four major union leaders also supporting measures, October 21, 2005 and (Börja om – med allt! ) reply to the latter article by well-known Socialist editorialist Göran Greider, arguing vehemently against the proposal, October 25, 2005〕 The new coalition had put forward the idea of introducing such tax breaks,〔(One in four would pay for a cleaner ) The Local, October 3, 2006.〕 and went on to do so in 2007. * All persons who own a television set are required to pay a TV licence ((スウェーデン語:TV-avgift)), if several people live in a household it is enough to pay a single licence. It is a crime for the owner of a television not to pay the TV licence, and punishable with a fine. Previous convictions indicate that the fine is between 1,000 and 3,000 kronor, and the conviction rate has been approximately 50%. The fee is collected by Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB, a private corporation owned by the public service corporations through a non-profit foundation.〔(SVT-chefen beslutade om polisanmälan ), Dagens Nyheter, October 19, 2006 〕 * A Member of Parliament (MP) who loses their seat after an election is entitled to parliamentary compensation ((スウェーデン語:inkomstgaranti)) in order to facilitate the transition from office. This compensation is reduced if the MP receives compensation from another source, such as a salary or other income, the parliamentary compensation is reduced by the same amount. In essence the parliamentary compensation acts as an income guarantee during a transition period.〔(Inkomstgaranti ) at the Riksdag website 〕 * A Swedish MP is issued with a credit card from the Riksdag which is only to be used for expenses associated with official business, such as travel and accommodation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minister affair at the announcement of the Reinfeldt cabinet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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