Rune Halvor Vindsetmo is general manager of Edgard Bakeri in Grimstad. This week the company opened a new department of the bakery at Oddensenteret. But like many others in the business world, he notices that it is more difficult to run a shop. Vindsetmo is not impressed by the government’s efforts – which he characterizes as very weak. – It seems that someone does not understand what we stand for and are doing. We will come straight out of the corona and hope for a new everyday life. Then there will be higher electricity, interest, raw material prices through the roof, things you can’t get on the market, he says. The bakery is completely dependent on using a lot of electricity to make its buns and bread, and Vindsetmo worries about high electricity bills, which he fears could be much higher in the winter. But the baker has so far seen no electricity support from the government. – We are on two different teams. We have to trust ourselves and bend our necks, and simply hope that there will be sunshine after rain, he says. And the baker from Grimstad is not alone in being critical of the government’s corporate policy. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre says that the government takes the feedback from business very seriously. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news As many as 83 per cent of company managers believe that the government pursues a policy which takes the needs of companies into account very little or to a small extent. Only 3 percent of the companies believe that the government pursues a policy that takes sufficient account of the business world. – When more than eight out of ten business leaders believe that the government’s policy does not meet their needs, it makes an impression. These are strong figures, and they are consistent, says managing director Ole Erik Almlid in NHO to news. The four organizations NHO, Virke, Finans Norge and the Shipping Association conducted the survey among their member companies immediately after the government presented its proposal for the national budget. The bottom line is: the business leaders have no faith in the government’s policy and budget. – The companies feel that they are not heard and seen, and that they are talked down to a bit. When the government sees these figures, I hope they will be concerned, points out Almlid. Read also: Strong reactions to the state budget Politics that are expensive. The NHO chief believes that the government is not in step with business. LITTLE CONFIDENCE: Business leaders have no confidence in the government’s policies and budget, shows a survey by NHO, the Shipping Association and Virke. Photo: André Børke / André Børke – The government talks about a green shift, about restructuring and job creation throughout the country, to make this happen you have to have the companies on board with the government, then you need good cooperation and dialogue, and not this, says Almlid NHO, Virke, the Shipping Association and Finans Norge highlight that it has become more expensive to run and own a business in Norway in the past year. There have been record-breaking changes in the framework conditions for companies, this has consequences and goes beyond both value creation and job creation, they point out and refer to the answers from the company managers. For the company managers, the government’s policy hits directly at the bottom line in the accounts. As many as 73 per cent claim that the companies’ profits are reduced because of the government’s policy. Businesses are particularly dissatisfied with the tax and excise policy. CONCERNED: CEO Ole Erik Almlid is surprised by the extent of pessimism that prevails in business today. This is connected to the government’s policy Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news – When you come up with a tax package out of the blue of NOK 45 billion overnight, it’s a shock and it’s expensive, and then it creates poor predictability and makes it more difficult to run a business, says Almlid. The head of the NHO believes that the outlook for the economy is more negative than what the government is planning, and that it is perceived as very bad news to come up with new, tough tax measures, and especially when they are retroactive Read also: Will bring in billions from fish and havvind – Takes the feedback very seriously Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) says that the government appreciates and takes the feedback from the business community seriously. – At the same time, 7 out of 10 companies are also concerned about increased interest rates. It is also the government and that is why we are putting forward a tight state budget, to avoid the Norwegian economy overheating further, says Vestre. – But you also raise employer’s tax temporarily and you increase wealth tax and dividend tax. There is talk that you have now introduced political risk in investments in Norway? – Yes, we propose to temporarily increase the employer’s contribution to get inflation under control. It must be seen in the context of the fact that corporation tax is 6 percentage points lower than ten years ago. Wealth tax is also lower in next year’s state budget than it was 10 years ago. It is important that we look at the overall tax and levy level for business, says Vestre. At the same time, according to the organisations, many business owners are dependent on taking out dividends in order to pay wealth tax. The level of dividend tax has been increased by more than a third in the last 10 years, from 28 per cent to close to 38 per cent in the state budget for 2023. Relocating or downsizing business The competitive and investment power of the business world is weakened, completely contrary to the politicians’ goals, the business organizations emphasize. The banks also report increased unrest in the financial markets and that foreign investors now consider Norway to be a more uncertain country to invest in, says Idar Kreutzer, managing director of Finans Norge. – There is growth in Norway’s public sector, while NOK 50 billion is being drawn in to finance this growth, Kreutzer emphasizes. Political risk Kreutzer also reacts to the lack of dialogue with the government. He believes that increased employer’s tax on incomes over 750,000 will hit large parts of the business world hard. LACKS PREDICTABILITY: Idar Kreutzer, managing director of Finans Norge, lacks transparency about political processes from the government. Photo: Linda Reinholdtsen – The fact that a new tax was introduced as employer’s tax on knowledge-based business came as a big surprise, and is unfortunate. The introduction of a retroactive tax measure contributes to unrest and uncertainty. We react to the process here, we miss predictability, we have a tradition of dialogue and trusting cooperation. The process creates uncertainty nationally and internationally. For the first time, there is now talk of political risk investing in Norway, says Kreutzer. 31 per cent of Norwegian business owners are considering downsizing operations and activities in Norway as a result of current government policy. Half say they will invest less, and think they will have fewer employees because of the government’s policy. Although the four organizations are disappointed by the government’s lack of dialogue about the changes in tax and levy policy, they hope that the results of the survey will contribute to change. – It is entirely possible to get back on a better track, and I hope the government will, says Almlid.
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The business world feels that the government does not take the companies into account – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
