The purpose of this thesis was to elucidate the changes concerning the 3:12-rules. We wanted to find the possible effects of the reform and who the winners and the losers might be. We also wanted to examine whether or not the reform is a step towards a better company climate.

The 3:12-rules and the reform formed a basis for our theory part.

We then performed a qualitative study which consisted of four interviews with tax-experts working here in Karlstad. We talked with Stefan Thelander (Ernst&Young), Ragnar Kaiding (KPMG), Jan Hedbern (BDO) and Yvonne Gård (Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers). We chose to do our interviews with tax-experts since we thought they had the necessary knowledge for this type of study.

In the analysis we compared the reform and its purpose expressed by the government with the respondents’ view. We analyzed whether the respondents thought the reform would have the consequences wanted by the government. The effects included if the reform would stimulate companies to employ, if it would change the demand of services from auditors and how the owners will adapt to the new rules. Together with our respondents we then tried to figure out who will be the losers and who will be the winners of the reform. The last part of the analysis consists of a discussion regarding the future for close companies and the 3:12-rules.

The following conclusions were made:

• The reform will not be incentive enough for close company owners to employ.

• The rules will just become marginally easier.

• The rules will not change the demand of services from auditors.

• The owners will regulate their own salary in order to reach the wage-basis.

• The winners will be the owners of companies with a lot of employees and the small companies that can benefit from the alternative rule. The losers on the other hand will be the owners of companies who can not use the wage basis or benefit from the alternative rule.

• The 3:12 reform will not change the Swedish company climate drastically.