Communications director Ola Helge Hjetland confirms to news that the company will take legal action against the state. Mowi is one of the world’s largest seafood companies. – We will file a case against the state via the Oslo district court, because we believe that the fine related to the salmon tax is discriminatory and contrary to the EEA rules and the four freedoms, including the free flow of capital, says Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim to E24. They were the ones who reported the lawsuit first. He believes the government has been clear that it is the five big salmon companies they want to target. Vindheim believes that it is against the EEA rules that the smallest companies should avoid paying tax, and refers to the competition rules in the EEA agreement. – We already had a land rent tax model in Norway that worked excellently and was neutral when it came to the size of the company. Now the government has introduced a system that is discriminatory. We demand equality before the law, he says. In May, the Storting decided to introduce a basic rent tax on aquaculture of 25 per cent with effect from 1 January 2023. Originally, the proposal from the government was a tax of 40 per cent. Raudt: – Insolence’s grace Leader in Raudt, Marie Sneve Martinussen is not gracious with the criticism of the salmon company. – They really have the gift of audacity. Suing the state to protect small players is nothing more than a fierce battle of interests from some of the richest people in Norway, and the world, says Martinussen. She further says that the salmon billionaires have used every trick in the book to train, confuse and derail the debate about a fair tax on aquaculture. Manager in Raudt, Marie Sneve Martinussen, is critical of Mowi’s lawsuit. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Warn of political rematch – Now we will introduce a ground rent tax on aquaculture. That is correct, Jonas Gahr Støre told news when it became clear that there was a majority for the salmon tax at the Storting in May. It was so jammed that the Patient Focus party with its one representative decided a case in the Storting. It was the Labor Party, the Center Party, the Liberal Party and Patient Focus that agreed on the tax. In addition, Raudt voted with the majority when the basic rent tax for the aquaculture industry was adopted. Finance Minister and SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum then told news that he is happy to have found a cross-political solution in a matter he believes is of historical importance. SV wanted the ground rent tax to be 40 per cent, as the government originally proposed, but Vedum rejected a rematch. – The tax rate will remain the same, says Vedum. Frp and Høgre thought his insurance was of little value and feared that the salmon tax would eventually be adjusted upwards. Høgre announced that they want a rematch over the salmon tax. When the ground rent tax was first announced in autumn 2022, the salmon company plummeted on the stock exchange. But in May this year, when the news that the tax was adjusted down to 25 percent came, the shares rose again. Mowi rose 6 percent and Salmar 8 percent. The farming company Mowi will take legal action against the state because they believe the salmon tax is not fair. Photo: Mowi / NPK Cuts and record year In June, Mowi announced that they were dropping investments in Norway of NOK 5 billion following the salmon tax compromise in the Storting. It was then announced that 1,400 man-years were affected, among other things at a new plant on Varaldsøy in Kvinnherad. But in 2022 they had their best year ever. The result before tax was one billion euros, around NOK 10.8 billion. It was the first time in the company’s 60-year history that Mowi experienced a profit of over one billion euros, it was stated in a stock exchange announcement. In 2022, Mowi produced 464,000 tonnes of salmon. it was 4,000 tonnes more than was estimated a year earlier. Facts about ground rent tax Ground rent tax is paid from income you get by exploiting the community’s natural resources, such as water, wind and sea. Comes from the English expression “ground rent”, i.e. ground rent or land rent. When a wind farm has been set up in a mountain area or a salmon farm has been built in a fjord, the area is not freely accessible to others. Access to natural resources is limited, and this limits competition. This makes it easier to get extraordinarily high incomes in industries that utilize natural resources. Basic interest tax must be paid on income the companies receive in excess of what they can normally expect from their own investments and work effort, as a result of this benefit. Basic interest tax is also called super profit. (Source: NTB)
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– Frekkheiten’s grace – news Vestland
