– We have large and increased costs, it is more difficult to run our business. Much harder than before. We want the government to cut wealth tax and introduce a fixed price for electricity. There are two conditions that affect us the most, says Kari Aase Lunde. She runs a grocery store, cafe and rental cabins at an altitude of 900 meters on Venabygdsfjellet at the mountain pass between Gudbrandsdalen and Østerdalen. 15 employees work from here, with a view of wide expanses and round mountain peaks, four of them from the Lunde family. Both eldest daughter Maren and the husband work in the family business. Policy rate in percent The policy rate is set eight times a year by Norges Bank. The policy interest rate governs the interest rates in the banks, and affects your housing costs. The aim of raising the interest rate is for the high prices to come down again. The forecast tells us how Norges Bank thinks interest rates will develop in the future. Read more about sources and reservations here. A higher policy rate means increased expenses if you have a mortgage 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Forecast Norges bank Now the Lunde family is anxiously awaiting the revised national budget, which will be presented on Thursday. – We hope that the government takes action so that companies like ours and the rest of the business world get better framework conditions, say Kari Aase Lunde and Maren Lunde. Kari Aase’s parents started the mountain shop around 60 years ago. In line with the cottage development, the family has gradually expanded the business. But the future prospects are bleaker than before. – It has become tougher to make a living from this. We hope that the government understands how difficult it is for us in business. That they become more concerned with how the districts should develop. If people move, there will be little basis for running businesses in the districts in the future, says Lunde. URO: Deputy managing director Anikken Hauglie in NHO feels unease about the content of the revised national budget Photo: Moment Studio / Moment Studio The family hopes that the government will invest more in stimulating business and not transfer even more money to public enterprises. In NHO, they are also excited about the revised national budget. Gray and boring is good – We hope for a gray and boring budget with no big surprises, says deputy managing director Anikken Hauglie in NHO. Hauglie says that NHO registered that the government communicated in the autumn that they were keen not to increase costs, that it was an expensive time and there was a need to tighten up spending. Signals that went down well with NHO. NEUTRAL: Kyrre Aamdal in DNB Markets believes that the government will come up with a neutral budget, and that they will hold back on spending while at the same time having to compensate for wage and price growth Photo: Johan B. Sættem – But we sense unrest, leaks from revised indicates increased use of oil money. We hope this is not a signal of a policy that will put increased pressure on the economy and that there will be an increase in expenditure that will be difficult to cover. The last thing we need is even more bills being sent to business, says the NHO director. NHO fears that increased spending on the public sector will lead to even higher inflation and higher interest rates. – We hope for a responsible use of oil money and that expenses are reduced and that reforms are announced so that there is no increased pressure on the economy. The last thing we need now is an increase in spending that involves further tax and fee increases or that the temporary taxes that came this year remain permanent, says Hauglie. Increased food prices The comparison of food prices and the wage trend says something about whether you get more, less or the same amount for your money. When the development of food prices is higher than the development of wages, it means that food has become more expensive. Both figures are averages for the specified period. Read more about sources and reservations here. How much food prices have increased in the past year, comparison with wage development The danger is increased interest rates The country’s economists are also anxiously awaiting the government’s proposal for a revised national budget. DEMANDING: The problem with spending too much money over the state budget is that central bank governor Ida Wolden Bache gets a more demanding job. Then the interest rate may have to be raised even more than what has been signaled so far. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB – There will be very large changes to both income and expenditure in the revised national budget. This is mainly due to the fact that wage and price growth has become far higher than what was the basis for the state budget last autumn, says senior economist Kyrre Aamdal at DNB Markets. In the state budget for 2023, the government assumed that prices this year would increase by 2.8 per cent. But the estimate has turned out to be too low. In the salary settlement, the price increase is calculated at 4.9 per cent, around two percentage points higher. When the government has to compensate for this, the consequence will be large numbers. Aamdal also highlights the expenses in connection with the Ukraine war and that there will also be increased allocations for electricity support. – It is probably more difficult than normal to stitch together the budget. If the government increases spending a lot this year, it could increase wage and price growth and help increase interest rates. So it will be important for the government to hold back on spending, while at the same time compensating for increased wage and price growth. TOUGH ROOFS: Kari Aase Lunde and Maren Lunde smile at the photographer, but believe that it has become very demanding to run the family business. Now they hope that the government will give both business and the districts incentives for growth. Photo: Lunde’s Neutral budget The government’s spending in the state budget for 2023 led neither to more speed in the economy nor to the economy slowing down. Aamdal predicts that the government does not want to fuel the economy any more in the current situation. The labor market is tight, and there is stronger upward pressure on both prices and wages than there has been in decades. – We probably think that they will come up with a budget that will have a relatively neutral effect on the economy, says Aamdal. Back at Venabygdsfjellet, the days are calm. May is not high season for the tourist companies, and the operators have time to equip rental cabins, cafes and shops before the summer season. – We are aware that we cannot increase the prices, because we want people to come to the mountains. Instead, we eat away at the equity capital, but we cannot continue like this for a long time, says Maren Lunde.
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– It has become harder to run a business – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
