Tomorrow, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) will present the government’s proposal for next year’s state budget. news has now received confirmation from several different sources with insight into the process that there will be adjustments to the temporarily increased employer’s tax on incomes over NOK 750,000. This move was introduced last autumn and was then expected to generate around NOK 8 billion in revenue for the state. The strong wage growth this year may have increased incomes. But the additional tax on high incomes will not be removed completely. However, the government wants to raise the cut-off point for which incomes are affected, according to news’s sources. A higher cut-off point, for example 1 million, will result in fewer incomes being taxed extra. Today, it is the part of the income that exceeds NOK 750,000 that receives an additional tax. SHIFT: Additional tax on high incomes could affect investments in green industries, the critics fear. Photo: Peter Tàlos / NTB Want to scrap the tax The government does not have a majority in the Storting and must negotiate with SV to get a majority for the budget. And SV’s fiscal policy spokesperson Kari Elisabeth Kaski has announced a fight against the extra tax in the autumn’s negotiations. – We believe it is a bad tax, with significant negative consequences. It is harmful to the restructuring of Norwegian business. We need to pick up the pace on the green transition, she said this autumn to E24. Kaski points out that the tax affects many occupational groups that are important in the green transition, such as technologists and engineers. Massive criticism From the right and the business community, criticism of the tax has been massive. A few weeks ago, the right-wing leaders Nikolai Astrup and Henrik Asheim appeared on news and asked for a clear answer from the government on what it intends to do with the extra tax. – When the companies have this extra bill for their employees who earn more than NOK 750,000, they should actually be told, as the budget leaks are flying between the walls at the moment, whether they will pay this next year or not, said Asheim. Ever since last year’s budget was presented, the Conservative Party has demanded an answer as to when the additional tax will be phased out, as the government has always said that it is temporary. The parties in working life have also criticized the tax. Both NHO chief Ole Erik Almlid and LO chief Peggy Hessen Følsvik want it gone. Unpopular Last year, the government justified several tax measures with a need for increased income in a situation with large extra expenses. In addition to the extraordinary employers’ tax on incomes over NOK 750,000, an additional tax on hydropower, a so-called high price subsidy, was also introduced. The government has already announced that this additional tax will be phased out during 2024. A permanent new tax on aquaculture, known as the salmon tax, was also introduced from 2023. In addition, the wealth tax was increased somewhat. NHO has warned several times that the tax burden on business has now become too great and pointed to a total increased tax and duty burden of over NOK 40 billion this year. – Unpredictability is built into business. We need predictability and a long-term perspective, said Almlid at NHO’s annual conference at the start of the year. Redistribution and security The entire budget proposal will be presented tomorrow. Finance Minister Vedum has previously highlighted four main challenges in next year’s budget: Reduce price inflation. Keep people in work. Ensure continued good welfare services. Strengthen Norwegian preparedness. The extremely high price increase has moderated somewhat this autumn, and Vedum is hopeful that the peak has been reached. – We believe that for a few more months we will still have fairly high price growth. But that we are at the top and on our way down. It’s very, very good. That is what we use as a basis when we make the budget, he said when he gave the so-called August lecture in Bergen.
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Vedum cuts crisis tax on work, but does not remove it entirely – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
