Reader’s letter This is a debate entry, written by an external contributor. The post expresses the writer’s views.
The Workers’ International Day of Struggle quickly became in Norway the so-called working class demonstration day to promote socialist politics from the trade union movement and political parties on the left.
One of the most marked songs that is sung in unison among organizers of demonstrations on this day is Internasjonalen, or in Norwegian, “So we gather on the whale”.
The third verse of the song begins with:
“The laws of the state bend against us, we are weighed down by taxes. And free from duty the rich joins, while the right of the poor knows no place. We have lain in the dust for long enough: We set freedom’s demands against predation. The law must be exercised against everyone, this is how we want our society’s law.”
One can wonder what the so-called welfare state based on the lyrics in the song has led to. We are experiencing tax pressure in the form of wealth tax on our business life which really puts value creation and jobs at risk. It may seem that the goal is a rich state with a poor people. At the same time, the working class accepts laws and regulations passed by the European Union without resistance.
As a local politician in Sandefjord, I constantly receive messages about private entrepreneurs who have to drain their businesses of value in order to meet the tax authority’s requirements for wealth tax. If this continues in the future, value creation and thus jobs in the private sector will be a thing of the past.
Move to Switzerland or move to a farm. Agriculture is Tax Norway’s last hiding place.
This is what finansavisen writes in an article from 16 February. Is it really the case that Finance Minister Vedum has shielded agriculture, thereby introducing discrimination in Norwegian business? Agriculture is important for Norwegian food production and the Norwegian cultural landscape, but the rest of business is just as important for value creation and employment in industry and other service production. One can easily understand that the country’s wealthiest business leaders choose Switzerland.
Today’s rules speak for themselves. The wealth tax rate is currently 1 percent for wealth that exceeds NOK 1.7 million and up to NOK 20 million. For wealth over NOK 20 million, the rate is 1.1 percent. Many business owners have to withdraw funds from the company to cover wealth tax, the effective tax rate on dividends is 37.84 per cent. If the owner has to finance wealth tax of NOK 200,000, the owner must withdraw NOK 321,750 in dividends to be left with NOK 200,000 after the dividend tax has been paid.
Asker municipality has decided to look at the consequences of slightly reducing the share of property tax that accrues to the municipality. This is to try to achieve increased growth and value creation. Asker municipality is a “rich” tax municipality with tax revenues well above the national average. That is not the case for Sandefjord Municipality. The revenue system for the municipalities from the state would hit Sandefjord harder than Asker. The Norwegian system for income leveling between the municipalities is too complicated to explain in a reader’s letter.
If value creation is to take place in the private sector, this to finance the public sector, there must be a fairer tax system in our country, while the state sector must be made more efficient in order to achieve large savings.
Sandefjord FrP likes to sing the first line of the International in Norwegian, and stands firm in the party’s main goal:
“A strong reduction in taxes, duties and public intervention. We have great respect for the individual’s right to decide on their own life and finances. The Progress Party wants people to be able to keep more of their own money, and is therefore fighting for lower taxes and fees.”
