When we present our first budget this week, it will be based on the government’s platform and value base. We must counteract differences, ensure opportunities for ordinary people throughout the country and protect our common welfare services. After many years of increased inequality, a fairer distribution is absolutely necessary, where those who have the most, and in many cases have received significantly more in recent years, contribute more. It is also necessary because more of us are getting older. The community is given greater tasks and needs new income in the coming years so that we can together protect good welfare for all. At the same time, we are in an extremely demanding time, with war in Ukraine, energy crisis in Europe and strong price growth, also here in Norway. Putin’s war has turned many heads. It has enormous and tragic consequences for the population of Ukraine and has changed the entire security policy situation in Europe. It has also led to a stream of desperate refugees, and it has contributed to the prices of all forms of energy going through the roof. In Europe there is a critical shortage of gas; here at home, we feel it through extreme electricity prices. New bills All this has a big impact on the state budget for next year. We contribute support to a war-torn Ukraine; We are arming our own defences; We are accepting a record number of refugees; And we have faced extraordinarily high electricity prices with one of the world’s most comprehensive electricity subsidy schemes for households. At the same time, expenditure on the national insurance increases. This means that we have new bills of several tens of billions that must be covered in next year’s budget. We must cover these in other ways than with oil money. The Norwegian economy is going full steam ahead, and with next year’s budget we must help to control the sharp increase in prices. If we use more oil money, we risk contributing to high inflation taking hold and forcing higher and faster interest rate increases than necessary. We shall not do that. We must create security around people’s finances and jobs and make tough choices now to ensure that we come out safely on the other side, so that people can keep their jobs and can afford to pay bills and loan installments. For this government, it is not relevant to cover the extra expenses with major cuts in important welfare services such as health, education and care. It’s tight here too, but we want to protect the welfare state’s core tasks as far as possible. It is also not relevant to increase taxes for ordinary people. We have promised that people with medium and low incomes will receive lower taxes, and we stand by that promise. Redistribution of income Instead, we will cover the extra expenses in a way that is in line with important experiences in the development of Norway, which is fair, and which contributes to redistribution. To make this happen, those who have the most must contribute more. This applies to both private individuals and the business world. For most of us here at home, higher prices mean greater expenses. But for those who make a living from refining our natural resources, hydropower, wind power on land and aquaculture, it means higher incomes. In Norway, we have a long history of schemes that give the community part of the income from industries that earn very well thanks to access to our natural resources. Like hydropower and oil and gas, where the companies pay a so-called ground rent tax. The proposals we are announcing today build on the foundations that we already have in our tax system. We propose long-term measures that ensure redistribution and necessary income both next year and in the years to come. And we propose extraordinary tax measures adapted to the current situation. New taxes The power producers and the aquaculture industry make a lot of money from our natural resources. They must contribute more to the community. We propose to introduce ground rent tax for the farming industry and for the wind power industry, and an increase in the ground rent tax for hydropower. In addition, we are proposing an extraordinary tax on hydro and wind power in order to collect more of the large profits due to the very high electricity prices. Municipalities and county councils that now have high incomes through the sale of concession power must also contribute. These will receive a one-year draw in the framework grant. Our proposals mean that tax revenues from hydropower, onshore wind power and the aquaculture industry increase by around NOK 33 billion annually. A large part of the income will go back to the local communities. Our society is built on fair distribution. It is the key to both the strength of the welfare state and the opportunities of business; It is “create and share” in practice. We have to create in order to share, but the way we share also determines our ability to create. With the measures we are proposing today, we are facilitating stable income for the community and fairer distribution that will benefit everyone.
ttn-69
The profits from natural resources must be better distributed – Statement
