Sweden Sees Surplus, Plans Tax Cuts as Economy Beats Europe

Sweden predicted a budget surplus and raised its economic growth forecast for the next two years, allowing Europe’s fastest-growing economy to cut taxes while the rest of the region struggles through austerity cuts.

The largest Nordic economy will expand 4.6 percent this year, compared with the 4.8 percent predicted last month, the government said in its spring fiscal policy bill released today in Stockholm. The government raised its forecast for growth in 2012 and 2013 and predicted a widening surplus over the next four years as unemployment falls.