But the “Christmas gift” from the Norwegian continental shelf is not of the type that can be unwrapped and used now, points out Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp). – We know that if we had used more oil money this year, prices would have increased even more. That would hit those with the worst means, he says to news. SMILE: He has reason to smile, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum. But with big money, comes a bit of trouble. Because what will the government spend the extra 1,000 billion on? Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB But it is not trifles that flow into the state coffers from the oil and gas business. Fresh figures from the Ministry of Finance clearly show how adventurous growth has been this year: In total, the state collects NOK 1,315.6 billion from the oil and gas business this year (net cash flow). This is well over NOK 1,000 billion more than estimated in the state budget. The use of oil money increases by NOK 13.5 billion, from NOK 323.7 to NOK 337.2 billion this year. The reason for the increased income is primarily the extremely high gas prices, which have been driven up by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Against Vedum, the Progress Party’s finance policy Roy Steffensen believes that the figures show that the government has an explanation problem. WRONG: Roy Steffensen of the Progress Party believes that the enormous additional income shows that it is not necessary to increase taxes to finance Norwegian welfare. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB – This shows that the story telling to Vedum that the crisis means that the state needs money, and that we therefore have to increase taxes and fees, is wrong, says Steffensen. – The income will vary greatly, in other years the fund’s income is lower. But we can maintain welfare despite that, says Vedum, and attacks what he calls the Frp logic: – Short-term thinking and increased use of oil money would be a recipe for bigger problems, and it would hit the most vulnerable. The result would be higher prices and again even higher interest rates, the Minister of Finance states, and adds: – We cannot control Norwegian politics according to whether the price of oil is high or low. The last two years illustrate that. We cannot use a lot in the year when the price of oil is very high. – Would the Norwegian economy not tolerate the use of a few more billions? – It is not possible to say exactly where the border is. But if we, when we get over 1,000 billion more, had only used that money, it would have created enormous challenges and even more price growth. – Do you understand that it is difficult for those who are in need to hear that the government cannot spend more money due to the interest rate? – It is not the interest rate that is the main point, it is the increased prices. The interest rate is only an indirect effect of the prices, says Vedum. Want more electricity support Roy Steffensen in the Progress Party has come up with the calculator. He states that the finance minister receives as much in oil and gas revenues in one day as the government sets aside for electricity support for companies in the whole of 2022. – Now the Storting should work for an improved electricity support scheme for companies as well, both for December, but also extend into in 2023, says Steffensen. He believes the government should use the extraordinary gas revenues to avoid bankruptcies as a result of high electricity prices. – Now that we see electricity prices also rising in the north, we should signal that we are going to stand up for business. The consequences of these extraordinary incomes are that they lead to extraordinary expenses on electricity for business. It is really an additional taxation, says the Frp representative and points out that high gas prices in Europe push up the price of electricity in Norway. But for the government, it is out of the question to use these additional revenues now. Because they will go straight into the oil fund, Vedum insists: – Norway has decided that we will allocate the extra income to the fund. We decided that decades ago. Every year we use the return from that fund, he says.
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