Incentives Too Fickle to Drive Investment, Volvo Tax Head Says

Businesses shouldn’t include tax incentives in their models deciding where in the world to invest because they’re too easily changed, according to a top official at Volvo.

“When we look at the policy agenda for countries, it’s a lot of focus on tax incentives, and a lot of money spent on tax incentives,” said Jesper Barenfeld, senior vice president and head of corporate tax at AB Volvo.

When advising his company on investment, however, he never includes tax incentives, “because they can be gone tomorrow.”

Barenfeld spoke Monday on a panel at the International Fiscal Association’s annual Congress in ...