The matter summed up: Bodø municipality is considering cutting the wealth tax that affects locally owned businesses by 25 to 75 percent in order to attract rich emigrants. Mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen believes that the national tax policy penalizes Norwegian ownership and goes beyond Bodø municipality’s finances. The Labor Party, SV and Raudt voted against the proposal, and believe that discussions about wealth tax belong in the Storting. Raudt believes that Høgre is more concerned with the finances of his friends in business than the finances of Bodø municipality. – We only have one single taxpayer who has fled the country and traveled to Switzerland, and it costs Bodø municipality one to two million a month in less income alone. That’s according to Bodø mayor, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen i Høgre. Today, the city council decided to look into the possibility of cuts in property tax that affect locally owned businesses. If the analysis gives a thumbs up, the tax will be reduced by 25 to 75 per cent. This applies, for example, to machinery and business property on which the owners must pay tax, even if the company were to make a loss. – I am very happy that such a broad majority in the city council made this decision today. Then there is also a contribution to the national discussion about how we have set up our tax system, he says to news. Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen says the city council is taking matters into its own hands. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – One of the most important things we do in Bodø, but also nationally, is that we must take care of Norwegian business owners and stimulate Norwegian ownership and not the opposite. It is not the first time that an Upper Mayor in Nordland has lured with “more favorable” wealth tax. In 2019, the municipality became known as Norway’s Monaco after deciding to cut property tax to 0.2 per cent, the first municipality in the country. They have also offered free nursery school and childcare. Just before Christmas, the municipal director proposed a series of cuts to make ends meet. Courting the tax refugees Ingebrigtsen does not hide the fact that it is a signal to the tax refugees that they are wanted back home. – After all, we both want those who have gone to Switzerland and escaped the country to return home. And last but not least, there are still many Norwegian business owners who are hit by this tax which we do not want to go away. Ingebrigtsen believes that the national tax policy penalizes Norwegian ownership, and that this also affects Bodø municipality’s finances. – Isn’t Bodø municipality dependent on these tax revenues? – That is what we want to find out. How big an impact will such a reduction have on the municipality’s finances. – And last but not least, there are still many Norwegian business owners who are affected by this tax which we do not want to go away, says Ingebrigtsen. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik He is also open to the possibility that there may be other measures that can attract Bodø municipality people and businesses that want to invest. – So we actually take matters into our own hands here and see if there is anything we can do here in Bodø to motivate more people to move here and invest and own a business here. Ap: – Not fooled It was only the Labor Party, SV and Raudt who voted against the proposal. Fredric Persson in the Bodø Labor Party believes that this is a government task. – We think that creative ways of looking at wealth tax like this are not wise. You just have to look to Bø. It wasn’t exactly a stand-alone success. Fredrik Persson in the Labor Party does not think it is a wise move. Photo: Nordland county municipality Persson emphasizes that the Labor Party is open to discussing wealth tax, but that this type of discussion does not belong in a city council chamber, but in Parliament. – How do you think the income in Bodø municipality will be affected? – It will affect the municipal economy negatively. Høgre would like to claim that this will lead to a number of new establishments, but we are not so sure about that. Perhaps an analysis will show that. NHO: – Among the most important measures, NHO Nordland applauds Bodø municipality’s ambitions to cut property tax. – We must do everything we can to strengthen private and local Norwegian ownership, says regional director Hans Christian Hansson in a press release. He explains that today’s high tax on so-called working capital is challenging for companies because it directly reduces their ability to invest, develop and adapt. Hans Christian Hansson, regional director of NHO Nordland. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – This applies to the whole range of Norwegian companies, from small family-owned companies to large ones, says Hansson. – A lower tax burden is among the most important measures that our small and medium-sized member companies are asking for. – More preoccupied with the finances of friends Andreas Tymi in Bodø Rødt is clear in his speech that this is not the way to go. – The myth of Høgre is that the wealth tax is harmful for Norwegian ownership, workplaces and business. But the truth is that the tax contributes to infrastructure and to the community. – The proposal for Høgre is not the right way to go, he believes. – Do you think Høgre underestimates what these revenues mean for the economy of Bodø municipality? – No, I think they know that. They are more concerned with the finances of their friends in business than the finances of Bodø municipality. Andreas Tymi in Rødt Bodø. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Tymi thinks this will have something to say for staffing in health and care and people’s sense of justice. – If you are told that there will be cuts in a service that you need, then it certainly doesn’t help to hear that Høgre is giving gift packages to his friends in the business world. – They will lose from this both in the short and long term, concludes Tymi. Mayor Ingebrigtsen, for her part, believes that tax policy today is already having a negative impact on the municipal economy. – The only thing I know is that it has already had negative consequences for the municipal economy and I am concerned about that. My mission and that of the city council is to facilitate growth and development here in Bodø, which is why we want to get this question resolved.
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Luring tax refugees home to Bodø with a cut in wealth tax – news Nordland
