Vodafone Wins Tax Battle with Swedish Government

The County Administrative Court in Vaxjo has ruled that Vodafone will not be required to provide the Swedish Tax Authority with itemised details of its employees' mobile telephone calls. The Court viewed such an obligation as a serious encroachment on personal integrity.

The Swedish Tax Authority's demand for itemised details of mobile phone calls of a number of Vodafone employees has been rejected by the County Administrative Court in Vaxjo. The Court based its ruling on the fact that it considered the Tax Authority's request a serious encroachment on personal integrity. The court added that it would be almost impossible to conduct this kind of control in a manner that would provide a true and fair outcome.

The Swedish Tax Authority had intended to investigate whether Vodafone employees were using their mobile telephones for private calls, thereby making them potentially liable to pay tax on such calls. Vodafone has at all times opposed the Tax Authority's demand on the grounds that it constitutes a violation of employees' integrity, and has therefore refused to hand over its call lists.

"We are naturally delighted to have received the support of the Swedish County Administrative Court in this key issue as we believe that the Tax Authority's demand would violate the integrity of our employees and also damage our customers' faith in us in the long run. It is crucial for us that our customers feel they can trust us and that they firmly believe that we are handling details to which we gain access in the course of our activities in a professional and secure manner," said Jon Risfelt, President and CEO of Vodafone in Sweden.

Vodafone is the first mobile operator in Sweden to have been issued this demand.'"

Posted to the site on 11th July 2002