MaktkartanPublished: Text updated:
The budget bill in September
The government submits the budget bill to the Riksdag by 20 September, and later in an election year. It proposes the state's income and expenditure for the coming budget year, which follows the calendar year.
Expenditure is divided into expenditure areas, for example health care, defence and the justice system.
The framework decision model
The Riksdag decides in two steps. First the frameworks are set: a total level of expenditure and a frame for each expenditure area, together with the estimate of income. The decision is taken as a whole.
Then the money within each expenditure area is allocated by the committee responsible for that area. The frame cannot be exceeded in the second step.
Motions and alternative budgets
Parties that do not back the government's proposal file their own budget motions. The chamber sets the proposals against each other, and the one with the most votes becomes the Riksdag's decision.
Implementation and follow-up
Once the budget is decided, the government gives each agency an appropriation directive with funds and assignments for the year.
In the spring the government submits the spring fiscal policy bill with guidelines for the future and a spring amending budget for the current year. The annual report for central government presents the outcome afterwards.