A broad majority consisting of Ap, Sp, KrF and V believe there is a basis for ground rent in the aquaculture industry. But they cannot support the proposal for ground rent taxation as it currently stands. This is revealed in a press release on Wednesday. The County Council therefore requests that the introduction of the tax be postponed until after the final arrangement has been adopted by the Storting. A clear signal – This is a clear signal from the country’s heaviest and most important aquaculture region, says county mayor Tore O. Sandvik (Ap). The consultation statement consists of eight concrete points which will be sent to the government within a short time. “For Trøndelag, the industry makes up a significant part of value creation in the county and salmon is Trøndelag’s most important export product. Two-thirds of Trøndelag’s commodity exports, measured by export value, are salmon, and Trøndelag accounts for between 20-25% of the Norwegian production of farmed salmon,” the parties write in the press release. – The county council in Trøndelag is giving a clear message today that here the government must look at the proposal again, and I would strongly recommend that the tax change should be anchored in a broad settlement at the Storting, says county deputy mayor Tomas Iver Hallem (Sp). – The facilities presented in the proposal must be changed and simply cannot be introduced as the proposal is presented. Facts about ground rent tax * Ground rent tax is paid from income you get by exploiting the community’s natural resources, such as water, wind and sea. Comes from the English expression “ground rent”, i.e. ground rent or land rent. * When a wind farm has been set up in a mountain area or a salmon farm has been built in a fjord, the area is not freely accessible to others. Access to natural resources is limited, and this limits competition. This makes it easier to get extraordinarily high incomes in industries that utilize natural resources. * Basic interest tax must be paid on income the companies receive in excess of what they can normally expect from their own investments and work effort, as a result of this benefit. Basic interest tax is also called super profit. * Today there is a basic rent tax on hydropower and oil production, and the government will introduce this on wind power and salmon farming. Source: NTB Calling the decision a game for the gallery, the Right and the FRP presented an alternative proposal against the introduction of ground rent tax on Wednesday. Lill Harriet Sandaune (Frp) calls the decision in the county council a game for the gallery. She describes that it was clear from the podium that the representatives from Sp and Ap want the tax. – What they are really saying to the government is “wait until after the election”. They are terrified of losing their positions in the coastal municipalities, which have already been hit hard, and send a plea to Finance Minister Vedum to wait with the introduction until after the municipal and county council elections. Then the positions are secured for another four years and you don’t have to worry about the voters anymore, she writes to news. Lill Harriet Sandaune (Frp) believes that today’s decision is not in line with what the representatives from Ap and Sp expressed from the rostrum. Photo: Rikard Spets/Frp Another alternative proposal put forward by Tommy Reinås on behalf of the MDG went in support of the proposal for land rent tax. – The farming industry is dependent on using national resources and therefore it is natural that taxation is also central. For example, a locally paid ground rent tax would have led to Stavanger having an oil fund – not Norway, writes Reinås to news. – Healthy with commitment Fisheries Minister Bjørnar Skjæran (Ap) writes to news that the basic rent tax will be introduced and that the timeline is fixed. – The case is now on hearing, and we will thoroughly familiarize ourselves with the hearing input. That is why it is important that the county council also gives its input, and it is both important and healthy to have involvement from everyone. Then we will go to the Storting with a clear goal of broad political support. – What is important to us is to ensure that it is the real income that is taxed, and that the host municipalities should come out better than before and the municipal sector should be left with at least half of the tax income, writes Skjæran. The Minister of Fisheries points out that they also want a minimum deduction that protects the smallest. – Our main message is that it is reasonable that those who make a lot of money from the community’s resources contribute more to the local communities. Bjørnar Skjæran says the timeline is fixed. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news – A good decision – This is good. The government should listen to the country’s largest aquaculture county and postpone the process, investigate alternative tax models and say yes to the industry’s proposed transitional arrangement which will ensure increased income for the community. That’s what Geir Ove Ystmark, director of Seafood Norway, writes to news. The feedback they have received from members in Trøndelag is that the national, county and local politicians in the county have been keen to familiarize themselves with the matter and understand the consequences. Ystmark boasts of that. – I have faith that we can manage to find solutions that both secure the industry, the community and workplaces. This is a good decision. Geir Ove Ystmark believes the government should listen to the country’s largest aquaculture county. Photo: Øyvind A. Haram / Sjømat Norge Supports own government The county council in Troms and Finnmark, where the red-green party also has a majority, does not want the introduction of ground rent tax to be delayed. With 55 to 2 votes, the politicians adopted the county council’s recommendation to ask the government to look more closely at deductions for investments on land and to assess whether the level for bottom deductions is at such a level that it does not affect the small operators and the locally owned operators. In addition, a larger part of the surplus must be redistributed to the municipalities, the county council believes. – We have faith that the government, based on the input we have given, will make good assessments without us having to delay the introduction of the ground rent tax, says group leader for Ap, Mari Siljebråten.
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The county council in Trøndelag asks the government to drop the introduction of the ground rent tax in January – news Trøndelag
