Mikael Damberg, economic-political spokesperson for The Social Democrats, believes that the government has handled the construction industry "catastrophically badly". He does not believe that investing 4.35 billion in temporarily increasing the ROT deduction will make a difference.
It may have some effect on the margin, but it won't turn the construction sector around, he says.
If the government thinks that the construction sector will turn around with this, then they haven't understood that the fundamental problem is that housing construction is at rock bottom and that the calculations don't add up to build homes today.
"Doesn't work"
He has nothing against the ROT deduction itself – it was The Social Democrats who introduced it once upon a time. But he believes more in investment support for building rental apartments and state credits for construction projects.
The trade union Byggnads is also critical. The effects on unemployment in the construction industry will be marginal, they believe.
"The government seems to only have one tool to try to stimulate housing construction, and the big problem is that it doesn't work. It's terribly idea-poor and a huge disappointment", says Byggnads' chairman Kim Söderström in a comment.
The industry is positive
The construction industry, on the other hand, is overwhelmingly positive about the proposal.
"This is crucial for the industry and will save many companies and jobs", says Installatörsföretagen's CEO Saira Alladin.
The trade organization Byggföretagen does not believe that an increase in ROT will turn the crisis in housing construction around, but still welcomes the proposal.
"Every job is important when layoffs continue to increase, companies are struggling to get their calculations to add up, and unemployment in the construction industry is around 10 percent", says Tanja Rasmusson, chief economist for Byggföretagen.
