The ethnography ”Shaping Taxpayers: Values in action at the Swedish tax agency” is a vivid account of one of the most esteemed Swedish bureaucracies. The book follows one of its risk assessment project up-close; from its inception, through the research phase, in presentations throughout the Agency to its final abandonment as the results and conclusions reached did not align with the Agency’s strategies. In its aim to collect taxes and minimize tax faults, the Agency mediates the application of tax law while it strives vigorously to obtain legitimacy in society. Following this project at the Agency reveals how diverse knowledge claims – legal, economic, cultural – compete to shape taxpayer behaviour.
To berghahnbooks.com
The second study focuses on taxation of service exchanges and how the border is constructed between the private and the public domains. The result is published as "'Common sense' at the Swedish Tax Agency. Transactional dimensions separating taxable and tax-free income". In the article are values identified that define the taxable trade from the helping hand.
The project is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (2011-2014).
