– From the past we know that cabin owners were here 21 days a year on average, now we know that people are here much longer. Then we think it is fair that the municipalities with cabins should get a bit more of the income, says Runar Bekkhus in Færder Venstre. He is sitting on the beach in Sandøsund in old Tjøme, now part of Færder. Here, the population increases to around 50,000 people every summer. In addition, many are here at other times of the year. After the pandemic, the long weekends and cottage offices have survived. – We do not get the tax income from cottage dwellers, who are many here, we propose that the municipalities that have many leisure properties should receive part of the income tax they pay where they live, but we do not want property tax, says Bekkhus. COTTAGE OFFICE: Ormelet in Færder municipality. The cottage offices live on after the pandemic. Photo: Anders Børringbo, news Today, income tax follows the municipality where you live. You must stay in one place for more than 180 days a year in order to register a move and thus pay tax in a new place. Want to share the income tax Bekkhus and Venstre believe the current system is unfair. In a memo, the party uses “part-time residents” for cabin owners and writes: “This can, for example, is solved by the part-time resident/taxpayer choosing/deciding how many months. or 12 parts if you use/live in your Færder property, and the council tax is divided by e.g. 3/12 parts to Færder municipality” – Won’t this be a big bureaucracy to calculate how much each municipality should get? – We want it to be a smaller, fixed percentage that is easy to administer. The primary wish is for people to report moving here, but that is not always realistic, says Bekkhus. – We believe it is possible to get this adopted centrally and have already discussed this with Venstre’s leadership, he continues. – Exciting proposal Færder’s mayor Jon Sanness Andersen (Ap) supports the tax proposal. WANT TO COLLECT TAX: Mayor Jon Sanness Andersen (Ap) supports the proposal to collect income tax. Photo: Anders Børringbo, news – This is exciting and has been proposed before. This must be decided centrally by changing the law, but it’s a fair idea that I like, says Sanness Andersen to news. He sees that many more people are staying longer in the cabins, a trend he believes came even before the pandemic. – When many cottagers are here, we are the ones responsible for them in relation to home care and more. The fact that we can get a share of the income tax is not against me, he says, before he continues with a smile: – Now it is the case that the mayor of Bærum and the leader of the city council in Oslo are unlikely to support this. – But are you willing to bring your party colleagues central to that debate? – Yes, I will. There is probably a long way to go, but I think the proposal is good. The Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance controls how the taxes are collected. State Secretary Erlend Grimstad (Sp) replies in an email to news that they do not know enough about the consequences of the proposal: – We note the proposal from the Liberal Party in Færder municipality. This has not been investigated and we need to have more knowledge about any consequences of such a proposal in order to be able to take a position on it, writes Grimstad.
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Municipal councils will demand income tax from cabin guests – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
