The expert: Risk of bankruptcy in the autumn

At the beginning of the pandemic, the government introduced the possibility for companies to defer payment of taxes in the hope of preventing bankruptcy.

But when that opportunity is removed this autumn, companies will have to pay in the tax that has previously been deferred.

For Grand Hotel in Jönköping, it will be tough to handle that payment.

- It will be.

We keep the hope and belief that the business with travel, conferences and meetings will start soon.

We see that it has been a good summer and we sincerely hope that the autumn will be the same.

But if it does not, then this will be difficult to cope with, says Anna Haglund, hotel manager at Grand Hotell.

What would happen then?

- The worst thing that would happen is that there will be a bankruptcy.

Big shoulders after the pandemic

Grand Hotel in Jönköping is now in a situation that many other entrepreneurs also do.

In total, this is SEK 50 billion that just over 48,000 companies need to pay back.

And now experts predict that it could lead to a wave of bankruptcies as companies still lack liquidity.

- I think it is reasonable to assume that companies have incurred fairly large debts during the pandemic and pushed them in front of them.

In addition, this debt must be paid with interest.

We believe that a proportion of these companies will not have good enough margins, balance sheets and liquidity and will be forced to throw in the towel and file for bankruptcy, says Henrik Jacobsson, CEO of the credit information company Creditsafe's Swedish part.

For those companies that do not have enough money in the coffers to pay taxes, the resort may be to put the company into bankruptcy.

"Need to find some kind of installment"

The entrepreneurs' own interest group calls for new solutions from politics.

- From a political point of view, I think there is an interest that these companies should still be able to survive. Then you need to find some type of installment or some other kind of solution where you can pay back and the company can survive so that there is not a big wave of bankruptcy when the first installments are made, says Patrick Krassén, tax policy expert at Företagarna.