– The coast has gathered around a very clear message: We expect the Conservative Party to stand by previous decisions that we are against ground rent tax on aquaculture, says mayoral candidate Monica Molvær in Ålesund to news. Seven of the Høyre’s county teams along the entire coast, from Agder in the south to Finnmark in the north, stand behind the resolution “No to ground rent tax on aquaculture”. It will be considered at the party’s national meeting on 24-26. March. In the text, the protection is aimed at the government, but also at one’s own party. For now, the Conservative Party leadership has not given any guarantee that the party will not support ground rent tax on aquaculture. – The Conservative Party has been too vague in this matter. That is why we have gathered along the coast now, because we meet desperate people in companies every single day and people who risk losing their jobs, says Molvær. CRITICAL: – The Conservative Party has been too vague in this case, believes mayoral candidate Monica Molvær in Ålesund. Photo: Trond Vestre – The Right has been too vague, you say. What are you thinking about then? – There has been a large consultation round. But in the time until then, the Conservative Party has been open about wanting to “look at the possibilities”, she says. – But precisely on these questions, the Conservative Party has a fairly clear policy from before, which I believe we should stand by. She points to tens of billions in lost investments and the danger of stifling value creation as reasons for the opposition to the new tax. 46 of the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidates have also signed a newspaper article in which they strongly oppose the land rent tax. – Fair, lasting and predictable tax On 28 September last year, the government announced that there would be a ground rent tax on aquaculture, a so-called salmon tax, from 1 January this year. The tax will bring in almost four billion tax kroner for the community, according to the government. However, the details of the proposal have not yet been submitted to the Storting. It will happen during March, according to what news understands. Everything indicates that the salmon tax will also be a main topic at the Conservative Party’s national meeting on 24-26. March, as it was four years ago. At the time, a clear majority at the national meeting said no to land rent tax. Instead, the party advocated a local production tax. SUPPORTER: Ground rent is a fair, lasting and predictable tax, says Høyre’s Hanne Alstrup Velure. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB And there are still key voices in the Conservative Party who advocate a ground rent tax. Central board member Hanne Alstrup Velure is one of them. She argued for ground rent on aquaculture in 2019 and has not changed her mind. – I have always been a spokesperson for ground rent tax. I believe it is a business-friendly tax on super profit, i.e. an extraordinary profit, she says. – It is independent of growth, lasting, predictable and fair, says the right-wing leader. Facts about ground rent tax for the aquaculture industry Effective rate of 40 per cent. Applies to the production of salmon, trout and rainbow trout. A floor deduction of 4,000-5,000 tonnes ensures that only the largest players pay ground rent tax. To apply from 1 January 2023, the government proposes. Will provide between 3.6 and 3.8 billion annual tax revenues. The income must be distributed equally between the state and municipalities. The proposal has been submitted for consultation with a deadline of 3 January. The proposal has been submitted for consultation and not adopted. (Source: NTB) Velure is head of the Association of Outlandish Municipalities (USS) and deputy head of the Natural Resource Municipalities. In this autumn’s election, she is the Høyre’s candidate for county mayor in Innlandet. – You can use the community’s resources until the day you have a hatching surplus. Then you have to pay for the input factors, as all other companies have to. Velure agrees with people in his own party that the government’s process has been worthy of criticism – It is disrespectful to a large and important industry for Norway. She thinks the resolution from the coastal counties is “very good” when it describes the situation, but “weak in principle”. Velure still expects the proposal to get a majority at the Conservative Party’s national meeting. No guarantee The Conservative Party has been cautious in its statements about the salmon tax. In the party’s alternative budget for 2023. It says that the Conservative Party wants “all the facts on the table and that the industries must be included in the investigation work in a good and predictable way”. But the party is not slamming the door on a land rent tax. On the other hand, it says that “Høyre will take a final position on the proposals when they are presented by the government”. Fiscal policy spokesperson Helge Orten says he understands the frustration and commitment from the coastal counties in his own party. – The tax proposal from the government came upon us all suddenly in a press conference on 28 September. It has created great uncertainty for many workplaces and local communities along the coast, he says. Norwegian: Fiscal policy spokesperson Helge Orten believes the government is making major changes to the tax system without a proper process. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news – The process is subject to all criticism. It is very un-Norwegian to introduce such a large tax change with effect before the consultation deadline is up and long before the Storting has received the matter for consideration. – But can you give any guarantee that the Conservative Party will move towards a ground rent tax on aquaculture? – We have been critical of both the design and scope of what the government has sent out for consultation. Then we are keen to have a good dialogue with the industry and the local communities along the coast, says Orten. – In the consultation process, input has been received from the industry on alternative models. If we are to have a real consultation process, it is important that precisely this type of proposal is investigated and looked at in more detail, before a proposal is presented to the Storting. – Has the Conservative Party been too vague? – I think we have been clear that we want to have a good dialogue and cooperation with the industry when these types of tax changes are to be considered. – What do you have to say to those in the Conservative Party who are in favor of a ground rent tax? – The last time this was up, we adopted a production tax. That is what applies today. That decision is firm. We will then have a new discussion about this at the national meeting now. Basically, it is clear that we do not support the ground rent tax model that the aquaculture tax committee put forward at the time.
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Demands clearer resistance – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
