The workshop outside Lillestrøm has produced steel structures for the construction industry for over 50 years. In the middle of the welding hall stands Morgan Mathisen, who will eventually take over the company his father built up in the 70s. But a generational change is still a long way off: – My father, who has built this up over 50 years, depends on an income every year to be able to pay wealth tax. This means that now, at the age of 70, he sees almost no possibility of retiring, says Mathisen. The fields Mek. The workshop has a turnover of over NOK 300 million a year. According to Mathisen, Mathisen’s father personally pays around NOK 1.5 million in wealth tax as the owner. – Can’t you just take out dividends to pay the tax, then? – Yes, that’s what we have to do. We have to take away the equity in the company instead of building on and creating value, he says. The Center Party’s Sigbjørn Gjelsvik and Morgan Mathisen at Åkrene Mek. agree that wealth tax must be reduced. Photo: Eirik Pessl-Kleiven / news The least wealthy will receive relatively greater tax relief Sp believes the wealth tax is too much of a disadvantage for owners such as the Mathisen family. Assets above the minimum deduction of NOK 1.7 million must be taxed by all Norwegians. In the draft of the new party programme, the Center Party is in favor of reducing the wealth tax for local owners of small and medium-sized businesses, by increasing the basic deduction and so-called valuation discounts. They will therefore not do anything about the tax rate of 1-1.1 per cent, but will increase the tax-free wealth so that owners of smaller businesses get a relatively greater tax break than the richest. – Here we point very clearly where we want to go, and we want to help business owners of small and medium-sized businesses all over Norway, because we want to develop the whole of Norway, says Per Martin Sandtrøen in the Center Party’s program committee. The full draft of the party program will be presented later this week. – Is too hard hit Sandtrøen clarifies that any tax cuts will apply to everyone, but that the party’s aim is to reach local owners such as the Mathisen family. Support beams for the construction industry are cut in the hall at Åkrene Mek. outside Lillestrøm. Photo: Eirik Pessl-Kleiven / news Although the tax rate has increased with the Støre government, the tax comrades from the Center Party point to a victory in government. The party has already contributed to increasing the basic deduction from NOK 1.5 to 1.7 million. They also got SV involved in this change. – But we have to go further along that line, because we see that some of the local business owners are too badly affected by the wealth tax today, so we must get a fairer wealth tax that provides better conditions for the local business community, says Storting representative Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). WELDING: The company both welds and installs support beams. Many of them go to halls and commercial buildings in the area. Photo: Eirik Pessl-Kleiven / news Will not give figures But how much the Center Party will increase the tax deduction at the next crossroads, SP’s draft program does not say anything about. Calculations made by the Ministry of Finance show that an increase in the basic deduction from NOK 1.7 to NOK 2 million will cost the state around NOK 1.9 billion in lost income annually. A minimum deduction of NOK 5 million will cost much more: NOK 11.4 billion: – It is a first draft of a party programme, so we cannot give an estimate of NOK a year in it. But here we are pointing in a clear direction, and then of course we must return to negotiations around the state budget, says Sandtrøen. For the Mathisen family, even a basic deduction of NOK 5 million will still mean that large parts of the tax bill remain. Introduced salmon tax despite promises Before the last election, the Center Party was against the introduction of the so-called salmon tax. In government, they ended up introducing it anyway. So how can voters trust the party’s tax promises? – We have introduced a land rent tax which we believe is fair, and which helps to finance the welfare state, says Sandtrøen. – But does that affect their credibility on tax promises? – We are now starting a program process, and then we want it to point in a clear direction, and we are now doing that through this proposal in the first draft of the programme. The draft will be presented later this week. It will then be consulted in the party, before final consideration at the national meeting next year. SV: – Can look at basic deduction The tax proposal will not be rejected by the government’s budget partner SV, but the party will primarily change the arrangement so that large assets are taxed more heavily: BIG WEALTH: SV deputy leader Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes is not averse to cutting the basic deduction if they the largest assets are taxed more. Photo: William Jobling / news – We can look at a floor deduction as long as you get increased tax for the large assets, so that you get a fairer tax system, says SV deputy leader Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes. – If it is the Center Party’s goal to reduce taxes for the very richest in society while ordinary people will not get to enjoy any benefit from cuts, then that is something SV will not support. Out on the factory floor, Morgan Mathisen clarifies that Åkrene Mek. would like to contribute and pay tax. He believes it must be possible to find a better way to tax companies than today. – I am concerned that we should participate and contribute to society and pay tax, but I think it is wrong to pay on the value repeatedly. Published 16.09.2024, at 18.53 Updated 16.09.2024, at 19.00
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The Center Party wants to cut wealth tax in a new program draft – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
