– Even though I don’t have anything special more than a minimum pension, I don’t suffer any financial hardship. Then I think I can donate the money I get through the political work to my party. That’s what Jens Ingvald Olsen (71) says, who is retired, group leader for the Raudt party in Troms and Finnmark County Council, and municipal council member in Tromsø municipality. This year, scraps and stubble, from what the party veteran receives from his own positions, goes to his own party’s election campaign. While the party on the far left depends on its own shop stewards, and contributions from the trade unions, to finance the election campaign – it is private companies that finance Høgre’s election campaign. Jens Ingvald Olsen and Frode Bygdnes make up Raudt’s party group on the county council in Troms and Finnmark. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / news – The amount is the property of the party In Raudt, the articles of association stipulate that trustees must give their party-related income to their own party. – Part of this amount is the property of the party. Then we have a scheme which says that if people have bad finances, they can apply to be exempted, says Olsen. He thinks it is natural to give his share to the party. All public party benefits are Raudt’s collective property. This is how Raudt’s party tax works. All remuneration from political activity in Raudt must be paid into the party centrally in the form of party tax. Therefore, in practice, all income in the party organisation, where the members do not have full-time positions as a result of their office, will be paid back to the party. For an ordinary municipal council representative with an attendance allowance of NOK 6,000, NOK 2,240 goes back to Raudt in the form of party tax after deductions for tax and other expenses. Raudt’s parliamentary representatives The parliamentary representatives also pay a large part of their income to their party. The principle is that Raudt’s politicians should not earn more than an average monthly salary. In 2023, a parliamentary representative earns NOK 1,107 million. In 2022, according to Statistics Norway, the average monthly salary (per first quarter) is NOK 52,180, or NOK 626,160 a year. The representative receives a supplement of 20% for availability, overtime, unfavorable and unmanageable working hours. Thus, the annual salary for Raudst parliamentary representatives is NOK 751,392. The annual salary for parliamentary leader Bjørnar Moxnes will thus be NOK 814,008. Exemption? For various reasons, it may be necessary to apply for an exemption from the obligation to pay the remuneration. Application sent to the Labor Committee. Disability benefits and AFP pensioners with public AFP are exempt from the payment obligation due to the tax rules. (AFP in the private sector does not have any income restrictions) Position? As Rødt’s parliamentary representatives receive the same salary as all other parliamentary representatives into their account, this is technically solved with an automatic withdrawal to Rødt every month. From the party’s bylaws: Section 15 Financial issues All public party support to Raudt (group, representative and voting support, meeting allowances etc.) is Raudt’s collective property. Stønaden is managed by the national board for distribution to teams, municipalities and counties and for the operation of Raudt centrally. Members who receive compensation must send this over to Raudt. The National Board adopted guidelines for payment and exemptions, it says in Raud’s articles of association. An example: Group leader allowance: NOK 25,000 – tax, 36%: NOK 9,000 – other expenses: NOK 1,600 Net to Red: NOK 14,400 Another example: Meeting allowance for committee or committee: A total of 8 meetings at NOK 750: NOK 6,000 – tax, 36%: NOK 2,160 – other expenses: NOK 1,600 Net to Rødt: NOK 2,240 – I have never done political work to support myself, he says. Red party funding comes to a large extent from their own trustees, shows a calculation made by news. While the government party lives on grants from the LO organisations, Høgre gets its election contributions from the private sector. Høgre is hiring So far this year, Høgre has collected NOK 16.5 million for its own election campaign. The Labor Party lags behind with NOK 11.6 million. news has made the calculations based on figures from partifinansering.no, where election campaign contributions for 2023 are registered. So far, the Trade Union has injected more than NOK 12 million into the red-green party. In Raudt and SV, however, it is their own shop stewards who dominate as contributors, figures from party funding show. In SV, own trustees pay over NOK 1.9 million in party tax this year. LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik is expected to cough up considerable millions to secure the Labor Party’s election campaign funding. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo In addition, the Trade Union has given a total of over NOK 800,000 in individual contributions down the party apparatus to the Labor Party. LO’s contribution has not yet been made public, but in 2021 the organization gave NOK 15 million distributed among all three governing parties at the time. In 2019, the organization gave seven million to Ap in support of the municipal and county council election campaign. Leader in Raudt, Bjørnar Moxnes, earns NOK 150,000 less than other party leaders in Norway, due to the party’s party taxation. So far this year, he has paid NOK 69,000 in party tax. Photo: Tobias Prosch Simonsen Høgre is the party that receives by far the most from private companies, with NOK 13.7 million. While Venstre has collected the second most from companies, the newcomer Industrial and Business Party is in a surprising third place in the overview. The surprising third place, for the newcomer among the party, comes from a single contribution from his own company owned by a trustee in Larvik of NOK 489,000. At the same time, the FRP has not collected a single kroner so far in the election campaign, apart from the transfers between its own party members. Investor Christen Sveaas supports the party Høgre with several millions for this year’s election campaign. Photo: John-Andre Samuelsen / news Rich supporters The private sector is seriously throwing itself into the election campaign on the side of the party Høgre. Private companies are behind NOK 13.7 million of the contributions the party has received so far this year. In addition, the party has received over NOK 2.9 million from private individuals. According to an overview Dagbladet has made, six of the largest contributors are: Christen Sveaas (2.5 million kroner), Stein Erik Hagen (2 million), Christian Ringnes (750,000), Knut Gregardsøn Heje, Michael Steensland-Brun and Jonas Ramm (500,000 each ). According to the newspaper, eight of these millions come from Norwegians living in Switzerland. Jonas Stein is an election researcher at UIT – Norway’s Arctic University. He believes that the nature of the party is expressed in the party’s funding. Photo: JOhan Ante Utsi Collective party Electoral researcher Jonas Stein tells news that the further to the left one comes, the greater the expectation that one’s own union representatives will contribute to financing their own party. – I think it has its origin in the fact that Raudt and SV as a party are preoccupied with the collective, and this is also reflected in the funding of the party. According to Stein, this tradition is linked to the ideological background of the party on the left: as a collectivist party. – The party often adds to the reason that the community has given individuals confidence. Then it is also expected that they stand up when resources are needed to run their own organisation, he says. Marie Sneve Martinussen is acting party leader for the Raudt party. She believes the party has no use for “rich uncles”. Photo: Ryan Kelly – Has no “rich uncles” Acting party leader in Raudt, Marie Sneve Martinussen, greatly appreciated the generosity of her own trustees, such as Jens Ingvald Olsen. – In Raudt, we usually say that we don’t have any “rich uncles”, but who needs that, when you have people like Jens Ingvald? – says Martinussen to news. She finds it touching that the pensioner contributes to the splicing team in such a self-sacrificing way. – It is things like this that explain how Raudt has managed to grow into the people’s movement against difference Norway that we are, she believes. According to party funding, Jens Ingvald Olsen’s contribution, which he donates monthly, has come to over NOK 65,000. He says the contribution will exceed NOK 100,000 by the end of the year. He lives well with that: – I have now retired. Like other old people, I have low costs and few loans. My pension covers the daily costs, he concludes.
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– I laugh no trouble – news Troms and Finnmark
