Denmark uses new method to collect debt from public
Last year saw Denmark’s public debt collection agency Gældsstyrelsen collect a record amount from people with debts to the state.
A total of 12.6 billion kroner was collected last year according to the agency, which is a part of the Danish Tax Authority (Skattestyrelsen).
A new and more efficient recovery system, termed PSRM, can be credited for the amount, the agency said in a statement.
The system allows the agency to deduct from debitors’ wages and tax rebates in order to clear the debt.
“We have created a collection with strong resources to recover the debt,” Gældsstyrelsen director Anne-Sofie Jensen said in the statement.
“With our new system and our many skilled workers we are moving step by step in the right direction towards bringing down debt to the state,” she said.
Last year the system saw the tax authority bring in 5.2 billion kroner in overdue repayments.
The amount was notably lower in 2020, when it reached 2.2 billion kroner.
“The annual result shows that we are succeeding with our core task,” Jensen said.
“We are recovering a lot of the debt that public creditors have failed to demand from members of the public and businesses before the debt was transferred to us,” she said.
“But we are also aware that there are still challenges we must overcome in the coming years so we keep our working gloves on,” she said.
The amount of debt recovered by the state has increased year-on-year since 2016.
However, the total owed by individuals and businesses has also increased during that period.
That debt was estimated at 152 billion kroner in total in 2022.
Comments
See Also
A total of 12.6 billion kroner was collected last year according to the agency, which is a part of the Danish Tax Authority (Skattestyrelsen).
A new and more efficient recovery system, termed PSRM, can be credited for the amount, the agency said in a statement.
The system allows the agency to deduct from debitors’ wages and tax rebates in order to clear the debt.
“We have created a collection with strong resources to recover the debt,” Gældsstyrelsen director Anne-Sofie Jensen said in the statement.
“With our new system and our many skilled workers we are moving step by step in the right direction towards bringing down debt to the state,” she said.
Last year the system saw the tax authority bring in 5.2 billion kroner in overdue repayments.
The amount was notably lower in 2020, when it reached 2.2 billion kroner.
“The annual result shows that we are succeeding with our core task,” Jensen said.
“We are recovering a lot of the debt that public creditors have failed to demand from members of the public and businesses before the debt was transferred to us,” she said.
“But we are also aware that there are still challenges we must overcome in the coming years so we keep our working gloves on,” she said.
The amount of debt recovered by the state has increased year-on-year since 2016.
However, the total owed by individuals and businesses has also increased during that period.
That debt was estimated at 152 billion kroner in total in 2022.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.