What attribute affects salience on a political agenda? How come some reforms are implemented while others are not? These are essential and central questions for our society. Our society, our democracy and our everyday life are dependent of these factors; communication is the condition. In the 2011 budget from the Swedish conservative government, the question of lowering the VAT on restaurant- and catering services was the single most debated reform. This was occasioned from 2009 when the European Union allowed, for the first time since Swedish entry in 2005, a lower VAT on restaurant services. Since then Finland, Belgium and France had lowered their VAT on restaurant services and now Sweden had decided to follow suit. On January 2012 the Swedish government halved the VAT on restaurant services from 25 per cent to 12 per cent. This essay deals with the processes that lead up to the implementation earlier this year, from a media- and communications perspective. For this purpose, central players of the VAT reform have been interviewed as well as a comprehensive study of the relevant documents on this subject. Agenda setting theory derived from John W. Kingdon and Maxwell McCombs makes up the theoretical framework for this essay in its endeavour to seek out answers to who, why and what lead up to the lowering of the Swedish VAT on restaurant services in 2012. In the beginning of the 1990s the question of a lowered VAT on restaurant service was raised when the VAT on groceries was lowered which created an unfair competition between restaurants and supermarkets. The restaurant enterprises have since lobbied for a lowering of the restaurant VAT. With the new conservative government coming to power in 2006 a change of political agenda followed which resulted in a new approach towards the issue. With regards to Kingdons agenda setting theory this essay conclude that the single most important issue for the reduction of VAT on restaurant services was to tackle the high levels of unemployment. In particular for those with a weak position in the labour market, such as adolescents, immigrants and uneducated citizens. While among the most important actors in the issue where the conservative coalition government as well as the socialist opposition, the restaurant enterprise organization SHR and the restaurant union HRF.

Den 1 januari 2012 sänktes den svenska mervärdesskatten på restaurang- och cateringtjänster med 13 procentenheter. Liknande åtgärder genomfördes i Frankrike 2009 samt i Belgien och Finland 2010. Det främsta politiska syftet med momssänkningarna har uppgetts vara den positiva effekten på sysselsättningen. Denna uppsats utvärderar styrkan i detta påstående för Frankrike, Belgien och Finland. Med hjälp av data från Eurostat analyseras sysselsättningsutvecklingen i restaurangbranschen med hjälp av hotellbranschen som referenspunkt. I undersökningen ingår 25 EU/EFTA-länder under perioden 2008-2011. Studien finner att inga säkerställda sysselsättningseffekter kan påvisas till följd av de tre momssänkningarna. För en mer grundlig analys om orsakerna tills detta krävs dock djupare studier i observerad effekt på priser och löner.

När den svenska regeringen beslöt sig för att sänka restaurangmomsen den 1 januari 2012, gjordes det för att stimulera restaurangbranschen att sänka priserna på måltiderna, nyanställa och eliminera svartjobb. Vid en sänkning av momsen frigörs kapital, ett extra ekonomiskt utrymme, som för företagen blir en tillgång som de själva får avgöra hur det kommer disponeras. Denna studie ämnar ta reda på vilka effekter momssänkningen kommer medföra för branschen och hur restaurangägarna disponerat det ekonomiska utrymmet. Material har införskaffats genom en enkätundersökning med restaurangägare, intervjuer med hotell- och restaurangfacket samt branschorganisationen Visita. Med utgångspunkter bland annat inom nationalekonomiska teorier visar undersökningen att restaurangägare valt att använda det ekonomiska utrymmet till att nyanställa, sänka sina priser, genomföra renoveringar eller till överlevnadsmarginaler. Detta tyder på att det finns en spridning över hur restaurangägarna handlat. Faktorer som kan vara av betydelse över hur restauranger agerar är företagets storlek och form samt hur konkurrenterna i dess omgivning agerar. / When the Swedish government decided to cut the restaurant VAT January 1st, 2012, was made for the purpose of encouraging the restaurant industry. In turn, the restaurants would choose to lower the prices of meals, hire new employees and eliminate illegal work. When VAT is lowered it releases capital, an additional financial fund. For the restaurants it’s an asset, which they can determine how it should be allocated. This study aims to determine the effects of VAT reduction on the industry and how restaurant owners have chosen to make with the additional funds. The material has been obtained by conducting a survey with restaurant owners, interviewing the restaurant union and the industry association Visita. With starting points in economic theories and previous studies on other VAT reductions, the study shows that restaurant owners have chosen to use the economic funds to create new jobs, lowering meal prices, renovations or to improve profit margins. This indicates that there is dispersion among the opportunities restaurant owners have chosen. Elements that could have importance in the actions of restaurant, is the size and form of the business, and the performance of the competition nearby.