The Swedish Bankers' Association warned that a new payrolltax targeting the country's financial services sector could put about 16,000jobs at risk, Bloomberg News reported Sept. 28.

The new tax proposed by Sweden's government may be set at 15%of local financial institutions' salaries, which may force banks to move fromSweden to Baltic locations, where wages are generally lower, according to theassociation.

However, Sweden's finance minister, Magdalena Andersson, hasargued that Swedish banks are sufficiently profitable to be able to withstandthe additional taxes.