The Swedish gift explosion 1942-1951: the rationality and consequences of giving.

Projektbeskrivning

The project studies the Swedish gift explosion of the 1940s and preceing the tax reform of 1948, as well as its aftermath. The reform included an increased wealth tax, an increased gift tax and a new estate tax. The future reform led to the collected gift tax increasing with 1900 % in 1947. In ten counties and Stockholm the gift tax declarations have been preserved. They have been used to construct a database, Gilda (Gift Explosion Database), which at present comprises 50 000 gifts and 15 100 donors. The project will answer the following main questions: 1. What was the rationality of giving? Who gave and to whom? 2. What were the consequences of the gift explosion? The aim is to increase our knowledge of gifts and giving in Sweden 1942-1951.