Spotify Co-Founder Threatens to Cut All Ties with Sweden

Photo Credit: Linus Mimietz

Spotify co-founder and Stockholm-based billionaire Martin Lorentzon says he’d leave Sweden immediately if the country imposes wealth taxes.

Spotify’s co-founder Martin Lorentzon recently confirmed he would leave Sweden “immediately” if the country introduces new wealth taxes. The announcement highlights growing concerns that the various proposals being debated ahead of this month’s election could drive money and jobs abroad.

“I would prefer to stay, but such a tax would mean I have to leave immediately,” Lorentzon said.

“It benefits no one if entrepreneurs and job creators have to sell parts of their companies to pay tax,” he added. “It would mean fewer companies, fewer innovations, less investment in areas such as environmental and climate technology, fewer taxpayers, and fewer shared resources for welfare. The tax is directly counterproductive.”

Lorentzon clarified that he supports progressive taxation but opposes an annual levy on wealth. He argued that such fortunes often consist of company stakes rather than cash, meaning that founders would be forced to sell shares to meet their tax obligations.

Increasingly, more of Spotify’s operations have become U.S.-based, despite the streaming giant being founded in and continuing to call Stockholm its home. Back when Spotify founder Daniel Ek was still its CEO, he similarly made qualms about changes to Sweden’s infrastructure that would lead the company to consider a move elsewhere.

“Sweden must change quickly,” the company’s leaders said at the time, threatening to pull “thousands of jobs” from the country if major changes to its infrastructure weren’t made.

Sweden’s Left Party is currently campaigning for a tax on billionaires while the Green Party is proposing a separate levy on the country’s wealthiest. Both moves are part of broader efforts led by Social Democrats, which are currently ahead of the governing right-wing bloc in recent polls. The vote arrives on September 13.

The current center-right government and Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson notably oppose a wealth tax. But investors are still trying to determine what compromises might surface after the election.

Lorentzon’s remarks are among the more dramatic indicators of how the country’s wealthiest would react to the introduction of new wealth taxes. According to Nordic Capital executive Klas Tikkanen, the proposals could produce “a real exodus,” while some advisors have already started looking into options for moving major company operations abroad.