The climate extremist group Återställ våtmarker is once again in focus – but this time, it’s not about high-profile road blockades or the lack of legal consequences, as has often been the case. Instead, it concerns a court ruling regarding taxes. Following a review, the organization is now required to pay over a quarter of a million kronor in taxes and fees linked to internal compensations.

It is after a review by the Swedish Tax Agency that the organization is now required to pay almost 290,000 kronor in additional taxes and tax surcharges, reports the news agency Siren.

The background involves payments made to activists via an affiliated support association. According to the organization, these were scholarships – a way to provide support and show appreciation for voluntary engagement. However, the Tax Agency made a different assessment and considered that the money, in practice, constituted compensation for work.

The authority therefore decided on so-called discretionary taxation, since employer contributions had not been reported. The Administrative Court now sides with the Tax Agency and upholds the decision.

Återställ våtmarker has for several years become known for high-profile and often controversial actions. The group has, among other things, blocked major traffic routes and highways in protest against what they perceive as insufficient climate measures.

One of the most debated cases occurred outside the Karolinska Hospital, where activists stopped traffic and caused long queues. The criticism was intense, not least because the blockade risked impeding access for ambulances and other emergency services.

Similar actions have been carried out in several parts of the country and have repeatedly led to traffic disruptions, resulting in queues and delays.

Despite the extensive disruptions, legal proceedings against the activists have often resulted in relatively limited consequences. In some cases, charges of sabotage have not led to convictions, with courts instead taking into account the purpose behind the actions and the broader context of the climate issue.

READ MORE: Supreme Court: Blocking traffic and ambulances is not sabotage – if it is for the climate’s sake

This has sparked debate about the judiciary’s handling of civil disobedience related to climate protests, with critics arguing that the signals risk becoming unclear when serious societal disruptions do not have more explicit legal consequences.

The current ruling, however, does not concern the protest actions themselves, but rather the organization’s financial arrangements. By classifying the payments as compensation for work, the Tax Agency and the court indicate that even non-profit organizations are subject to the same tax rules as other entities when compensation is paid out.

The decision means that Återställ våtmarker must now adjust its procedures and at the same time pay the established amount – a development that may have consequences for how similar organizations choose to structure their work going forward.

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