Four centre-right parties say they will not vote for the government’s coming tax plan unless Danes earning less than 58,000 kroner a month also get a tax cut.
Venstre, Liberal Alliance, the Conservatives and the Denmark Democrats go into tax negotiations later this week with that demand. DR reported on October 20 that the four parties consider it insufficient to cut taxes only for high earners.
The talks will be held with Tax and Growth Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt of the Moderates. According to DR, none of the four parties will support the plan if lower and middle incomes are left out. TV 2 Kosmopol also reported the demand, based on Ritzau coverage.
What the government has proposed
The government wants to abolish both the top-top tax and the middle tax, known in Danish as toptopskatten and mellemskatten. As DR reports, that would mainly benefit people earning more than roughly 58,000 kroner a month. The plan also includes cutting corporation tax by three percentage points in total from 2030.
Conservative leader Mona Juul said in a written statement that police officers, shop assistants, electricians and others below that pay level should also get relief. She noted that state revenues have grown while prices have risen.
Venstre chair Troels Lund Poulsen stated that his party backs easing both corporation tax and the middle tax. He added that Venstre will demand concrete tax cuts for all Danes in work. Liberal Alliance leader Alex Vanopslagh said ordinary Danes should get more out of going to work.
Denmark Democrats chair Inger Støjberg argued for a tax reform that families can actually feel. She pointed to rising prices for fuel, energy and food as the reason.
Why the blue bloc votes matter now
The government may need votes from the centre-right to pass the plan, DR reports. Its own parliamentary support parties, Enhedslisten and Alternativet, are not expected to welcome many of the measures in it. That leaves the four parties in a position to set conditions before negotiations begin.
No agreement has been presented. The negotiations with Engel-Schmidt are scheduled for later this week, and the content of the final plan is not yet known.
What the tax talks mean for foreign residents in Denmark
Everyone who works in Denmark and is registered with the Danish Tax Agency, SKAT, pays income tax through the same bracket system, regardless of nationality. The two brackets the government wants to remove, mellemskat and toptopskat, apply to the higher parts of income. Under the proposal as described by DR, a monthly salary below about 58,000 kroner would see no change.
That is the point the four parties are contesting, and it is why the outcome matters for foreign employees on ordinary Danish tax terms rather than special schemes. Until a deal is reached, no new rates, thresholds or start dates exist for 2027 or later, and the only confirmed date in the plan is the corporation tax reduction from 2030. Internationals who want to see how the current brackets affect their own pay can use a Danish tax calculator based on the rules in force today.
