Sweden: Municipality Inundated with Migrants Faces Tax Crisis as Native Swedes Flee

A Swedish municipality that took in one of the highest numbers of asylum seekers per population faces a crisis as natives move out and decimate the local tax base.

The municipality of Filipstad took in many asylum seekers during the migrant crisis of 2015 and now are facing increasing costs as unemployment among migrants has surged and financial assistance rates have tripled, broadcaster SVT reports.

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Adding to the burden has been the exodus of native Swedes, with hundreds of natives leaving between 2012 and 2018 and an even higher number of foreigners arriving during the same period. Statistics show the vast majority of natives who left were of working age.

While job vacancies still do exist in the municipality, the jobs require skills in language and training that few of the migrants possess.

According to another report from SVT, the city of Gothenberg is undergoing a similar problem, with working-age native Swedes moving out of the city to nearby municipalities, often to buy a home, and taking their tax money with them.

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