Recently, all the opposition parties in the Storting have presented their proposals for the state budget, if they were allowed to decide for themselves. They cut the government’s prestige projects or choose their own. This analysis compares the budget proposals to see what the alternative to the current government is. And where the Støre government faces criticism from the parties to the right and left of it in economic policy. All parties believe that the most important thing is to give citizens more to deal with in the face of rising prices and borrowing costs. Therefore, the parties will give more income tax relief to ordinary people than the government does! In other words, those who earn NOK 750,000 or less, which Ap in particular wooed in the election campaign. Most common are people who earn less than NOK 750,000 and have children. It was perhaps at Rødt that it was most clearly put into words to the two journalists present: Rødt is, to a greater extent than before, in favor of giving tax relief to the low-paid, simply because the purchasing power must also increase in this group, the party believes. The party doesn’t just want to increase social security and benefits, the low-paid must see that crisis aid comes to them too. Because you see who is worthy and needy, when the parties are forced to prioritize: the FRP chooses the minimum pensioners. KrF single minimum pensioners. SV and Rødt increase the payments to them for disability benefits, employment verification allowance and minimum pension. The Conservatives and Liberals are mostly concerned with places for action and getting people active. Tax spike on the bourgeois side KrF will increase the tax pressure, Frp will lower it. FRP cuts fees The Liberals think we must increase. FRP sharply cuts income tax, which Venstre and KrF increase overall. Both taxes and levies provide income to the state. The tax burden is also redistributive. The tax pressure may aim to influence behavior to something that the politicians want to reward or restrict. The Liberals are mostly concerned with cutting environmental taxes. FRP removes several of them. KrF is more concerned with cutting health-related taxes such as tobacco and alcohol, Frp wants to cut them. The Conservative Party cuts wealth tax more than the Conservative Party, the Conservative Party cuts more than the Conservative Party on income tax and taxes. KrF cuts wealth tax on working capital, but increases it for expensive housing. In tax and excise policy, there is still a greater gap between the Conservative Party and the FRP than between the Conservative Party and the government, measured in nominal kroner. This says something both about distance on the bourgeois side and about a Conservative placed close to the center in politics. A little more than a park suit in the animal age Few people are more ordinary than parents of young children. The government’s main move is: to lower the maximum price per months for a kindergarten place from NOK 3,000 in 2023 to NOK 2,000 next year. First and second graders will still be offered a free after-school program. The price of child benefit is not adjusted at the turn of the year, but stays at NOK 1,766 for children under 6 and NOK 1,310 for children between 6 and 18. There is an interesting welfare debate about whether society at large should spend money on giving families with children concrete services, or cash benefits. To everyone, or those who need it most. In party programs and debate posts, the politicians write that they want to invest and strengthen. In budgets, everything must be specified. The Conservative Party adjusts the price of child benefit for everyone, as last year, but will not lower the maximum price for daycare. At the same time, the right to a nursery place is extended to children born in December. The Conservative Party gives significant extra child benefit to children under 6 in the last six months of next year. On the other hand, “free” SFO for 1st and 2nd grade is replaced with six hours of free core time. The Liberals want to increase child benefit, but tax it so that relatively rich families get less. The Liberal Party went to the polls for the first time on this principle in 2021, the Conservative Party may be on the slide until the next parliamentary term. The Liberal Party is, among other things, discontinuing the KrF’s heart child cash support to achieve this. The Liberal Party also wants ongoing kindergarten admissions and is budgeting for an extra 19,000 kindergarten places to achieve this. KrF will increase child benefit for everyone, without taxing it. For the first time, KrF also supports the government’s proposal for “free” after-school care for children in first and second grade, which they have not included in the programme. The party could think this is an institutionalization of childhood, but now chooses to support the measure. For children under 6 years of age, Høyre is therefore significantly more generous than Rødt with direct transfers. See the fact box with details at the bottom of the case The opposition will, with slightly different conditions, give NOK 200 more a month to children under the age of six. Over a year, it will be little more than a park suit in the face of the animal age. In the future, there may be success in taxing child benefit, as an expert committee recently recommended. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Total slaughter of temporary employer’s tax The so-called temporary employer’s tax introduced by the government for the current year is slaughtered in the Storting. Høyre, Frp, Liberals, KrF and MDG remove it. SV cuts it and only Rødt supports the government’s policy. Viewed in isolation, in other words, there is no majority in favor of the tax. The government itself was thus unable to remove the tax that was introduced for the first time last year, but raises the income limit for when it occurs. At the same time, the government admits that the state’s income from the scheme will anyway be higher next year than this year. Hands in the air for increased climate tax Only Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre raised his hand when the municipal election campaign started with the question of whether we are well on our way to achieving the most important of Norway’s climate goals. The other party leaders must now show their climate policy cards. In the context of the budget, increased CO₂ tax is the most concrete thing that will have an effect already next year. The government is increasing the tax in line with the commitment of NOK 2,000 in 2030. The opposition outside the FRP obviously believe that the CO₂ tax must be increased more and faster before they themselves can raise their hand. Høyre, Rødt, KrF and MDG will collect around NOK 2 billion more in CO₂ tax. This corresponds to a 20 percent increase from the government’s budget proposal. The left increases by 36 per cent and the SV by 50 per cent. MDG’s budget plan mentions an increased pump price for petrol and diesel of respectively 35 and 37 øre as a result of the CO₂ tax increase alone. The government’s move has been to increase the CO₂ tax, which also affects fuel customers with one hand, but to reduce the road use tax on fuel with the other hand. In this way, motorists are shielded from a climate tax, one might say. This Center Party-friendly move is removed by all the opposition parties except Frp. The Liberals are not satisfied with that, but will also increase the road use tax back to the 2022 level. For its part, the FRP wants to cut car taxes by more than NOK 9 billion and reduce the pump price by more than NOK 5 for petrol. It is not possible to see how the FRP will get a majority for this. Which is probably both included in their calculation and an independent motivation for advancing the proposal. Cuts that are never adopted Red finds money by cutting fighters that have already been ordered. FRP wants to sell news and get money in the account before the end of the year. In addition, the party operates with dynamic effects of the immigration policy, meaning something we just have to believe them that will happen. The left removes AFP and sick pay, almost with a quick stroke of the pen. The Conservative Party cannot find room for its much talked about electricity support for business. Even if paper tigers and air money occasionally mark the budget documents, which are designed to never be adopted, one thing is certain: Opposition parties will always benefit from the exercise. That is why it is important. Details of child benefit proposal This is how child benefit would be for children under/over 6 years of age, if the various parties were allowed to decide for themselves. Increased cost for the state compared to the government’s proposal in brackets. The figures are stated by the parties themselves. The government parties and Frp: NOK 1,766. for children under 6 NOK 1310. for children over 6 years Left: NOK 2,600. per months before tax for all children (NOK 4.6 billion, without tax income) Right: NOK 2,000. per months for all children. From August a further NOK 1,000. per children under 6 years of age (NOK 900 million for general increase. NOK 1.7 billion for the toddler section) KrF: NOK 2,000. per months for children under 6, NOK 1,500. for over six years. (NOK 2 billion in increased costs for the state) SV: NOK 2,000. per months for children over 6 years of age (NOK 1.9 billion in increased costs for the state) Red: NOK 2,000. per months for all children. From March an additional NOK 100. per months for children over the age of six from March. (NOK 1.7 billion in increased costs for the state) MDG: NOK 2,600. per months for all children, but is taxed. (approx. 2 billion in increase for the state.) Source: The various parties’ alternative state budget. The parties themselves are responsible for the Bergeningen in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance.
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Will give more than the government to ordinary people. – Speech
