An article in the Guardian (September 19, 2016) titled “Waste not, want not: Sweden to give tax breaks for repairs” describes a plan to cut value added tax for repairs of bicycles, clothes and shoes from 25% to 12 % and offer the opportunity to deduct 50% of repair bills from taxes for appliances.  The government hopes to both stimulate use of local labor for repairs and incent repairs over replacement to reduce environmental impact. Given that new products are often more efficient than old ones, will such incentives reduce the environmental impact associated with use of equipment ?  Should consumers who end up replacing their equipment with more efficient alternatives,  for use, but ensure that it is refurbished and sold to others also be rewarded ?   Could one imagine alternate schemes that might perform better than those planned in Sweden ?