Enskild firma, aktiebolag eller både och?

Rationaliseringen av svenskt jordbruk leder till större enheter och högre omsättning, vilket gör valet av företagsform allt viktigare för lantbruksföretagare. Aktiebolag för driften ökar i popularitet hos lantbruksföretagare. Beror detta på mjuka värden, som risk och personligt ansvar eller är det hårda värden, som skattemässiga fördelar och att få en tydlig gräns mellan ägarens och företagets ekonomi som har störst betydelse? I takt med detta så stiger medelåldern på Sveriges lantbrukare, vilket innebär många kommande ägarskiften. Det finns mycket litteratur och studier angående skatteskillnader mellan företagsformerna och ämnet ägarskifte är även det relativt bevandrat. Kopplingen mellan dessa frågor, nämligen betydelsen av valet av företagsform i samband ett ägarskifte, upplevs relativt outforskad och är därför intressant att undersöka närmare. Resultatreglering är ett viktigt verktyg för att i både enskild firma och aktiebolag skjuta fram skatt eller att på olika sätt jämna ut sitt skattemässiga resultat. Enskild firma har möjlighet till bl.a. periodiseringsfond, expansionsfond och räntefördelning. Aktiebolag har främst möjlighet till avsättning till periodiseringsfond. Det innebär att en del av resultatet sätts av till denna fond, som dock måste återföras senast sex år efter avsättning. Expansionsfond är ett sätt för en enskild firma att likställa sin beskattning med aktiebolag. Avsättningen beskattas med expansionsfondsskatt, som är densamma som bolagsskatten för aktiebolag (22 %, år 2018). Denna skatt återbetalas vid återföring. Räntefördelning är ytterligare ett sätt för en enskild firma att likställa beskattningen med aktiebolag, genom att ändra skatteslag på en del av resultatet från inkomst av näringsverksamhet till inkomst av kapital. För att undersöka betydelsen av valet av företagsform i samband med ägarskifte så består arbetet av en litteraturdel vid namn ”Institutionella regelverk”, där fakta inhämtats från relevanta och trovärdiga källor, två semistrukturerade intervjuer med sakkunniga inom ämnet med stor erfarenhet i frågan samt ett fiktivt företagscase där skattemässiga konsekvenser hos de båda företagsformerna undersökts. Efter dessa olika former av kunskapsinhämtning har vi kommit fram till olika resultat och slutsatser. Den skattemässiga skillnaden mellan företagsformerna är marginella året för avsättning till periodiseringsfond och expansionsfond. Återföringen av dessa medel kan dock skapa stora skattemässiga konsekvenser om återföringen sker ett år med bra resultat. Det krävs alltså år med sämre resultat när återföringen sker för att få full effekt av resultatregleringen. I det fiktiva företagscaset resulterade aktiebolaget i lägst slutlig skatt, vilket kan förklaras av att en del av resultatet beskattas under inkomstslaget kapital tack vare utdelning enligt fåmansreglerna. Detta är aktiebolagets största fördel efter förutsättningarna som getts i detta arbetet. Aktiebolag lämpar sig bäst vid delägarskap. Man kan på så vis utföra ett tvådelat ägarskifte där den tänkta övertagaren av fastigheten får komma in som delägare i driftsbolaget och får på så vis känna större ansvar och delägarskap i verksamheten, vilket är positivt. Ett bildande av aktiebolag inom lantbruk minskar inte den personliga risken i praktiken. Att påstå att risken minskar stämmer inte överens med verkligheten då fastigheten, som alltid ägs av en enskild firma bortsett från några få undantag, ofta får sättas som säkerhet vid belåning etc. En kombination av både enskild firma och ett aktiebolag för driften i verksamheten kan vara optimalt sett ur skattesynpunkt, då aktiebolaget kan utnyttja lågbeskattad utdelning och den enskilda firman kan utnyttja expansionsfond och positiv räntefördelning. Vad gäller själva ägarskiftet av fastigheten så resulterar ett ägarskifte genom gåva i ett lägre avskrivningsunderlag och ett lägre bokfört värde för den övertagande parten. Ett ägarskifte genom köp leder till en högre köpeskilling, högre skatt och stämpelskatt för köparen. Resultaten från arbetet riktar sig mot, och är mest intressant för företagare med en resultatnivå som liknar det fiktiva företagets. Det är även intressant för lantbruksföretagare som av olika anledningar funderar på att ombilda företaget till aktiebolag eller enskild firma, då arbetet även berör andra aspekter än skatt.The rationalization of Swedish agriculture leads to larger units with higher economic turnover, which makes the choice of corporate form more important for agricultural entrepreneurs. The proportion of limited liability companies for the daily business is increasing in popularity among agricultural companies. Does this depend on soft values, such as risk and personal responsibility or is it hard values, such as tax advantages and to get a clear boundary between the owner's and the company's economy that are of the greatest importance? At the same time, the average age of Sweden's farmers rises, which means many ownership changes is to come. There is a lot of literature and studies regarding tax differences between the forms of business and the subject of change of ownership is also relatively researched. The connection between these issues, the importance of the choice of company form in conjunction with a change of ownership, is perceived relatively unexplored and is therefore interesting to investigate more closely. Profit regulation is an important tool for postponing tax in both sole proprietorship and limited liability company or in various ways to even out its taxable income. Sole proprietorships have the opportunity to use the tax allocation reserve, expansion reserve and interest rate distribution. Limited liability companies have the opportunity to allocate to the tax allocation reserve. This means that part of the result is set aside for this fund, which, however, must be returned no later than six years after deposition. Expansion reserve is a way for an individual company to equate its taxation with limited liability companies. The provision is taxed with an expansion reserve tax, which is the same as the corporation tax for limited liability companies (22%, year 2018). This tax is refunded upon return. Interest rate distribution is another way for a sole proprietorship to equate taxation with limited liability companies by changing tax rates on part of the result from income from business activities to income from capital. In order to investigate the significance of the choice of company form while changing company owner, the work consists of a literature part called "Institutionella regelverk", where facts have been obtained from relevant and credible sources, two semi-structured interviews with experts in the subject with extensive experience in the matter and a fictitious business case where the tax consequences of the two forms of business were investigated. After these different forms of knowledge gathering, we have come up with different results and conclusions. The tax-related difference between the forms of enterprise is marginal the year for deposition to tax allocation reserve and expansion reserve. However, the reversal of these funds can create major tax consequences if the return takes place a year with good results. This means that years with poorer results are required when the reversal takes place in order to have the full effect of the result regulation. In the fictitious corporate case, the limited liability company resulted in the lowest final tax, which can be explained by the fact that part of the profit is taxed under the income category of capital thanks to dividends according to the given rules. This is the Limited liability company’s biggest advantage according to the conditions given in this essay. Limited liability companies are best suited for joint ownership. That way it’s possible to perform a two-part change of ownership where the intended acquirer of the property can enter as a partner in the company and that way feel more responsible for the business, which is positive. A formation of a limited liability company in agriculture does not reduce the personal risk in practice. Claiming that the risk decreases does not match the reality when the property, which is always owned by an individual company apart from a few exceptions, often may be put as collateral in the case of mortgages etc. A combination of both an sole proprietorship for owning and a limited liability company for the operation of the business may be optimal from a tax point of view, as the limited liability company can utilize the lowtax dividend and the sole proprietorship can utilize the expansion reserve and positive interest rate distribution. Regarding the actual change of ownership of the property, a change of ownership through gift results in a lower depreciation basis and a lower accounted value for the acquiring part. A change of ownership through purchase leads to a higher purchase price, higher tax for the buyer. The results from this thesis are mainly interesting for entrepreneurs with a level of income similar to the fictitious company. It is also interesting for agricultural entrepreneurs who, for various reasons, are considering transforming the company into a limited liability company or sole proprietorship, since the thesis also handles other aspects than tax

Unga lantbrukares attityder, normer och hinder inför förvärv av lantbruksfastigheter

Sveriges lantbrukare blir äldre och färre. Medelåldern för dessa är 58 år och samtidigt har andelen lantbrukare under 35 års ålder sjunkit från 8 % till 4 %. Antalet sysselsatta i lantbruket år 2016 var 171 400 personer vilket är resultatet av en minskning med 1300 personer sen 2013. Utöver den åldrande och till antalet minskande lantbrukarkåren så råder en dålig lönsamhet i branschen. Endast 34 % av de responderande lantbrukarna i Lantbruksbarometern 2019 ansåg att deras lönsamhet var ganska eller mycket god - detta jämfört med 52 % före torkan 2018. Trots detta har priserna på åkermark bara ökat, vilket leder till kapitalintensiva verksamheter med låga marginaler. Med detta tuffa utgångsläge skall en ny generation primärproducenter slussas in i den gröna näringen. För att detta skall kunna ske på bästa möjliga sätt och på så vis ge denna nya generation lantbruksföretagare förutsättningar för att kunna bedriva långsiktigt lönsamma, hållbara verksamheter, krävs insikt i hur dessa människor resonerar. Närmare bestämt så kan det uttryckas som att kvantifiera unga lantbrukares attityder, normer och hinder inför förvärv av lantbruksfastigheter. För att göra det har denna studie haft Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) som teoretisk referensram och underlag för att kategorisera enkätfrågorna efter attityder, normer och kontroll. Som breddning av TPB användes Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour för att addera förväntade känslor och begär till enkätundersökningen. Valet av metod föll på en online-baserad kvantitativ enkätundersökning som fick 89 respondenter. Enligt undersökningen har unga lantbrukare en försiktigt optimistisk attityd till förvärv av lantbruksfastigheter, trots rådande låga lönsamhet i branschen och kapitalintensiva verksamheter. De fattar sina beslut i ämnet själva och lägger ingen värdering i normativa faktorer, även om de uppskattar synpunkter och råd från närstående. De känner ingen nämnvärd press från den äldre generationen angående att förvärva deras fastighet men förtydligade att de kunde uppskatta en viss press. Detta för att de kände att den äldre generationen trodde på dem som framtida lantbruksföretagare. Enligt respondenterna är de största hindren med att förvärva en lantbruksfastighet kapital till förvärvet, en äldre generation som inte släpper taget om sin fastighet och lantbrukets dåliga lönsamhet. De största möjligheterna är att få chansen att förvalta och vidareutveckla ett arv, arbetsglädje och friheten att få göra det de älskar - lantbruksföretagande.The farmers in Sweden are getting older and fewer. The average age for the farmers is 58 years and at the same time the proportion of farmers under the age of 35 has dropped from 8% to 4%. The number of employed people in the agriculture sector in 2016 was 171,400 persons, which is the result of a decrease of 1300 persons since 2013. In addition to the aging and to the numbers decreasing farmers, there is poor profitability in the industry. Only 34% of responding farmers in the Agricultural Barometer 2019 felt that their profitability was quite or very good - compared to 52% before the drought in 2018. Nevertheless, the prices of arable land have only increased, leading to capital-intensive operations with low margins. With this tough starting point, a new generation of primary producers will be included in the agriculture sector. In order for this to happen in the best possible way and to give this new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs the conditions to be able to conduct long-term profitable, sustainable operations, insight is required into how these people reason. Specifically, it can be expressed as quantifying young farmers' attitudes, norms and barriers to the acquisition of agricultural properties. To do so, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been used as a theoretical frame of reference and a basis for categorizing the survey according to attitudes, norms and control. As a broadening of TPB, the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior was used to add anticipated feelings and desires to the survey. The choice of method fell on an online-based quantitative survey that received 89 respondents. According to the survey, young farmers have a cautiously optimistic attitude towards the acquisition of agricultural properties, despite prevailing poor profitability in the sector and capital-intensive businesses. They make their decisions in the subject themselves and do not place much value in normative factors, even though they appreciate advice from relatives etc. They do not feel any significant pressure from the older generation regarding acquiring their property but clarified that they could appreciate some pressure. This is because they felt that the older generation believed in them as future farmers. According to the respondents, the biggest barriers to acquire an agricultural property are capital for the acquisition, an older generation that does not let go of its property and the poor profitability in the agriculture sector. The greatest opportunities are to have the chance to manage and further develop a legacy, job satisfaction and the freedom to do what they love - farming

Microbial communities mediating net methylmercury formation along a trophic gradient in a peatland chronosequence

Peatlands are generally important sources of methylmercury (MeHg) to adjacent aquatic ecosystems, increasing the risk of human and wildlife exposure to this highly toxic compound. While microorganisms play important roles in mercury (Hg) geochemical cycles where they directly and indirectly affect MeHg formation in peatlands, potential linkages between net MeHg formation and microbial communities involving these microorganisms remain unclear. To address this gap, microbial community composition and specific marker gene transcripts were investigated along a trophic gradient in a geographically constrained peatland chronosequence. Our results showed a clear spatial pattern in microbial community composition along the gradient that was highly driven by peat soil properties and significantly associated with net MeHg formation as approximated by MeHg concentration and %MeHg of total Hg concentration. Known fermentative, syntrophic, methanogenic and iron-reducing metabolic guilds had the strong positive correlations to net MeHg formation, while methanotrophic and methylotrophic microorganisms were negatively correlated. Our results indicated that sulfate reducers did not have a key role in net MeHg formation. Microbial activity as interpreted from 16S rRNA sequences was significantly correlated with MeHg and %MeHg. Our findings shed new light on the role of microbial community in net MeHg formation of peatlands that undergo ontogenetic change

Deltaproteobacteria and Spirochaetes-Like Bacteria Are Abundant Putative Mercury Methylators in Oxygen-Deficient Water and Marine Particles in the Baltic Sea

Methylmercury (MeHg), a neurotoxic compound biomagnifying in aquatic food webs, can be a threat to human health via fish consumption. However, the composition and distribution of the microbial communities mediating the methylation of mercury (Hg) to MeHg in marine systems remain largely unknown. In order to fill this knowledge gap, we used the Baltic Sea Reference Metagenome (BARM) dataset to study the abundance and distribution of the genes involved in Hg methylation (thehgcABgene cluster). We determined the relative abundance of thehgcABgenes and their taxonomic identity in 81 brackish metagenomes that cover spatial, seasonal and redox variability in the Baltic Sea water column. ThehgcABgenes were predominantly detected in anoxic water, but somehgcABgenes were also detected in hypoxic and normoxic waters. Phylogenetic analysis identified putative Hg methylators within Deltaproteobacteria, in oxygen-deficient water layers, but also Spirochaetes-like and Kiritimatiellaeota-like bacteria. Higher relative quantities ofhgcABgenes were found in metagenomes from marine particles compared to free-living communities in anoxic water, suggesting that such particles are hotspot habitats for Hg methylators in oxygen-depleted seawater. Altogether, our work unveils the diversity of the microorganisms with the potential to mediate MeHg production in the Baltic Sea and pinpoint the important ecological niches for these microorganisms within the marine water column

Opposing spatial trends in methylmercury and total mercury along a peatland chronosequence trophic gradient

Peatlands are abundant elements of boreal landscapes where inorganic mercury (IHg) can be transformed into bioaccumulating and highly toxic methylmercury (MeHg). We studied fifteen peatlands divided into three age lasses (young, intermediate and old) along a geographically constrained chronosequence to determine the role of biogeochemical factors and nutrient availability in controlling the formation of MeHg. In the 10 cm soil layer just below the average annual growing season water table, concentrations of MeHg and %MeHg (of total Hg) were higher in younger, more mesotrophic peatlands than in older, more oligotrophic peatlands. In contrast, total mercury (THg) concentrations were higher in the older peatlands. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis indicates that the net MeHg production was positively correlated to trophic demands of vegetation and an increased availability of potential electron acceptors and donors for Hg methylating microorganisms. An important question for further studies will be to elucidate why there is less THg in the younger peatlands compared to the older peatlands, even though the age of the superficial peat itself is similar for all sites. We hypothesize that ecosystem features which enhance microbial processes involved in Hg methylation also promote Hg reduction that makes previously deposited Hg more available for evasion back to the atmosphere. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Shifts in mercury methylation across a peatland chronosequence: From sulfate reduction to methanogenesis and syntrophy

Peatlands are globally important ecosystems where inorganic mercury is converted to bioaccumulating and highly toxic methylmercury, resulting in high risks of methylmercury exposure in adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Although biological mercury methylation has been known for decades, there is still a lack of knowledge about the organisms involved in mercury methylation and the drivers controlling their methylating capacity. In order to investigate the metabolisms responsible for mercury methylation and methylmercury degradation as well as the controls of both processes, we studied a chronosequence of boreal peatlands covering fundamentally different biogeochemical conditions. Potential mercury methylation rates decreased with peatland age, being up to 53 times higher in the youngest peatland compared to the oldest. Methylation in young mires was driven by sulfate reduction, while methanogenic and syntrophic metabolisms became more important in older systems. Demethylation rates were also highest in young wetlands, with a gradual shift from biotic to abiotic methylmercury degradation along the chronosequence. Our findings reveal how metabolic shifts drive mercury methylation and its ratio to demethylation as peatlands age

Biogeochemical influences on net methylmercury formation proxies along a peatland chronosequence

A geographically constrained chronosequence of peatlands divided into three age classes (young, intermediate and old) was used to explore the role of biogeochemical influences, including electron donors and acceptors as well as chemical speciation of inorganic mercury (Hg(II)), on net formation of methylmercury (MeHg) as approximated by the fraction of MeHg to total mercury (THg) in the peat soil. We hypothesized that removing vascular plants would reduce availability of electron donors and thus net MeHg formation. However, we found no effect of the vascular plant removal. The sum of the potential electron donors (acetate, lactate, propionate and oxalate), the electron donation proxy organic C/Organic N, and the potential electron acceptors (Fe(III), Mn and sulfate) in porewater all showed significant correlations with the net MeHg formation proxies in peat soil (MeHg concentration and %MeHg of THg). Thus differences in both electron donor and acceptor availability may be contributing to the pattern of net MeHg formation along the chronosequence. In contrast, Hg(II) concentrations in peat porewater showed small differences along the gradient. A chemical speciation model successfully predicted the solubility of Hg and MeHg in the porewater. The modeling pointed to an enhanced concentration of Hg-polysulfide species in the younger peatlands as a potential factor behind increased Hg(II) solubility and methylation in the more nutrient-rich peatlands. This work contributes to the understanding of Hg and MeHg cycling in peatlands which can help guide mitigation measures to reduce aquatic MeHg biomagnification in peatland dominated landscapes. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Oxygen-deficient water zones in the Baltic Sea promote uncharacterized Hg methylating microorganisms in underlying sediments

Human-induced expansion of oxygen-deficient zones can have dramatic impacts on marine systems and its resident biota. One example is the formation of the potent neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) that is mediated by microbial methylation of inorganic divalent Hg (Hg-II) under oxygen-deficient conditions. A negative consequence of the expansion of oxygen-deficient zones could be an increase in MeHg production due to shifts in microbial communities in favor of microorganisms methylating Hg. There is, however, limited knowledge about Hg-methylating microbes, i.e., those carrying hgc genes critical for mediating the process, from marine sediments. Here, we aim to study the presence of hgc genes and transcripts in metagenomes and metatranscriptomes from four surface sediments with contrasting concentrations of oxygen and sulfide in the Baltic Sea. We show that potential Hg methylators differed among sediments depending on redox conditions. Sediments with an oxygenated surface featured hgc-like genes and transcripts predominantly associated with uncultured Desulfobacterota (OalgD group) and Desulfobacterales (including Desulfobacula sp.) while sediments with a hypoxic-anoxic surface included hgc-carrying Verrucomicrobia, unclassified Desulfobacterales, Desulfatiglandales, and uncharacterized microbes. Our data suggest that the expansion of oxygen-deficient zones in marine systems may lead to a compositional change of Hg-methylating microbial groups in the sediments, where Hg methylators whose metabolism and biology have not yet been characterized will be promoted and expand