The farming company Lerøy halts development in Skjervøy after the government’s tax increase – news Troms and Finnmark

The farming giant Lerøy Seafood Group is not happy about the government’s proposal for increased taxation of the farming industry. On Monday afternoon, the board of the farming company wrote that they have decided to stop development of a planned salmon slaughterhouse on Skjervøy in Nord-Troms. The facility would cost NOK 420 million and create 30 new jobs. – The proposal to introduce ground rent tax and thereby increase the tax rate from 22% to 62% creates unjustifiable framework conditions for the industry in Norway, and changes opportunities and incentives for investments other than maintenance, the board writes in a stock exchange announcement. Group manager of Lerøy Seafood Group, Henning Beltestad, tells E24.no that the proposal for ground rent tax will stop the development of the industry’s value chain and thus reduce all its direct and indirect ripple effects along the coast. “The proposal for ground rent tax will stop the development of the industry’s value chain and thus reduce all its direct and indirect ripple effects along the coast,” says the group manager in the Lerøy stock exchange announcement. Photo: Trygve Hellestræ / news Mayor fears for the future Ørjan Albrigtsen, mayor of Skjervøy municipality, describes it as very challenging that Lerøy is now stopping development in the municipality. – The basic interest tax went as wrong as feared. It is the aquaculture industry which means that Skjervøy has managed to reverse a negative trend, says the mayor to news. The municipality was optimistic about the future. Lerøy created jobs in the municipality. – Between 1 and 2 billion were to be invested in industry. I now fear for the future. There is no doubt about that, says the mayor. Read also: New tax on salmon farming: Signs that the seafood giants will split up The fact that Lerøy is now stopping the development creates challenges that are unclear, believes Albrigtsen. Companies that are now covered by the ground rent tax may also be covered by changes in wealth tax, if they are among the smaller companies. It is the combination that the mayor fears. – We fear that many large investment projects will be put on hold. The first came now with Lerøy. The mayor now hopes that an impact assessment will now be put in place. – This has become much worse than we first thought, says Albrigtsen in Skjervøy municipality. The board in Lerøy has also decided to increase the purchase of 614 tonnes of maximum permitted biomass. Albrigtsen in Skjervøy does not have an overview of how it affects the municipality’s income. Photo: ØYSTEIN ANTONSEN / news Cermaq freezes investments But Lerøy is not the only farming company that is now looking at investments, after the ground rent tax. Cermaq will freeze investments in Norway as a result of the proposal for ground rent tax. The company planned to invest around NOK five billion in Nordland and Finnmark in the coming years. – Based on the new proposal, we have no choice but to put investment plans on hold. The proposal will affect growth and job creation in many coastal municipalities in which we operate, says CEO Steven Rafferty of Cermaq in a press release. Among other things, the company planned a new hatchery in Hasvik municipality in Finnmark with 30 new jobs. This project is now put on hold. The government wants to introduce ground rent tax on aquaculture from 1 January 2023. We will wait for a clearer understanding of the announcement last week and the final proposal for ground rent tax, says CEO Rafferty in a press release. Photo: Cermaq



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