Business partners Jens Rugseth and Rune Syversen open the door for news in the Norwegian working community in Lucerne. It is a medium-sized city in Switzerland by a lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. And with a very comfortable tax level. Norwegian office community in Switzerland 25 Norwegian “tax refugees” have been given a place here, while there were 40 who wanted to enter. The premises are located in the middle of the city and will be a professional and social meeting point for investors who have fled Norway due to the tax burden. NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENT: The historic city of Lucerne has attracted most of the Norwegian tax refugees. Photo: Alem Zebic – People have talked a lot about making joint investments in both Norway and Switzerland. Here we can accept visits from external parties who want to make presentations. We have a lot of demand from Norwegian banks, brokerage houses and property companies, says Rugseth. Jens Rugseth is a sort of spokesperson for the Norwegian investor community in Lucerne. A couple of hundred Norwegians live here who have come here in the migration wave that reached a peak in 2022 and 2023. Rugseth has built up a number of IT companies in Norway, and has become the main owner of several retail chains. He is also considering launching one of the toy stores, Sprell, in Switzerland. – Everything works here, unlike in Norway, he says. PARTNERS: Rune Syversen and Jens Rugseth have built billions in turnover through the Norwegian IT companies Link Mobility, Caryon and Sikri. Photo: Alem Zebic No belief in zero wealth tax with the Conservatives – VAT in Switzerland is 8 per cent. One third of the level in Norway. Average payroll tax is 16 to 17 percent. The wealth and dividend tax is one fifth of Norway, he elaborates. – And despite the fact that Switzerland has low taxes, most things work better than in Norway, as Rugseth sees it. – They have a much better public school down here. They have a much better healthcare system. Here, you are guaranteed to be operated on within two weeks, according to Rugseth. The office colleagues have no plans to move “home”, even if the Conservative Party wins the election next year and can lead a bourgeois government. Rugseth does not believe that wealth tax will disappear for that reason. – No, I will see this done. If I move from Switzerland, the most attractive thing for me is to move to Sweden. It is close to family and friends, he says. – Why? – Sweden has Europe’s best tax regime for business owners, he says, and points out, among other things, that the Swedes pay no wealth tax. One of those who will work here is the former sand volleyball star Bjørn Måseide, who set up a chain of training centers in Norway. – I have great and positive expectations for the office community, says Måseide to news. He points out that several large players such as DNB and ABG are now opening offices in Switzerland. – Our own Kraft Finans will probably do the same, as much of the heart of Wealth Management has historically been strong here in Switzerland. Trains on route and motorways everywhere But it is not just business life that is good in Switzerland, Jens Rugseth believes. – Trains run on time here, passenger boats ply on most lakes and no Swiss lives more than 11 kilometers from the nearest motorway. IN THE ROUTE: Lucerne has one of Switzerland’s largest railway stations. Switzerland is a train country. Photo: Alem Zebic Rugseth says Switzerland is more successful than Norway because they have a political model where the people decide. – When politicians come up with proposals, the people can say no. All important laws in Switzerland since 1848 have come as a result of referendums. Any Swiss citizen should be able to overturn a law passed by parliament if it manages to collect 100,000 signatures. Says they gave advice to political parties in Switzerland Kompanjong Rune Syversen, also on Kapital’s rich list, says the Norwegian tax refugees have been very well received in Switzerland. – The authorities are making the conditions right for us to stay, he says. – We have even been invited in by political parties to hear why we have moved, what they can do for us and not least how they can work with us in the future, says Syversen. Rune Syversen, who became Norwegian ice hockey champion for Vålerenga, has no intention of moving back to Norway. 386 people were registered as having moved to Switzerland during 2023, while in 2022 300 people moved to Switzerland. Fewer Norwegian riches to Switzerland If we look at those with assets over NOK 100 million, there has been a decrease in emigration to Switzerland from 32 in 2022 to 19 in 2023. Kjell Inge Røkke, who started the wave at many meetings, announced a move to Switzerland in the autumn 2022. The former Norwegian ice hockey champion for Vålerenga does not see himself moving back to his home country in the foreseeable future. – It has become almost impossible to create new businesses in Norway, says Syversen and points out that he saves NOK 4-5 million on lower taxes in Switzerland compared to Norway. Italian-speaking Lugano in the far south of the country is Switzerland’s answer to Monte Carlo. Kjell Inge Røkke has bought an apartment here, but does not stay there much, according to sources. Several young heirs to Norwegian family fortunes have also sought refuge here. THE GOOD LIFE: In Switzerland, 27-year-old Sander Andersen enjoys himself. Hotels and restaurants are world-class here, he says. Photo: Alem Zebic Young entrepreneur believes he will have a world-class life We meet 27-year-old Sander Andersen from Langesund at one of Lugano’s fashionable hotels. He settled on digital training coaching in Norway, but likes it better in Switzerland where he can be part of an international environment. Now he is trying to collect NOK 100 million for the crypto company Finpeers. – On the day this is sold, the tax level is completely different in Switzerland than in Norway, he says. Therefore, it was important to make the decision to move before the tax became a problem, Andersen explains. In Switzerland, he can live the good life: – I enrich my life with world-class food and world-class hotels, says Andersen. Vedum: – It’s easy to get rich in Norway The business community has put the recent wave of migration to Switzerland in the context of the Støre government’s policy from 2021. But Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) takes the boast of Switzerland’s qualities in stride. He points out that Norway also has free schools, healthcare and safe health schemes for employees. – This makes it easier to get rich here. Then the wealth tax is part of the repayment for those who have received the very largest fortunes, says Vedum to news, and continues: – Norway is one of the countries where it is easiest to become rich and where most have built up large fortunes.
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The emigrants to Switzerland do not want to return to Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
