Norway to add taxes to electricity producers and fish farming companies

The Norwegian authorities will raise existing or introduce additional taxes for electricity producers and fish farming companies. According to the government, these industries should share with society a greater share of the profits that they derive from common resources. According to Financial Timesthe measures should provide the budget with $3 billion a year.

According to the FT, a tax on the use of natural resources will be introduced for fish farming companies and wind energy enterprises, and already existing taxes will be increased for hydropower enterprises. In addition, a special tax levy will be introduced for wind and hydropower enterprises, taking into account the sharp increase in electricity prices. Commenting on the decision, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that after years of growing inequality, “it is imperative that those who have the most and especially those who have received the most in recent years share more.” “An important part of this is to make sure that the income that comes from our natural resources is distributed more fairly than it is now,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government’s decision was not liked by these industries. Shares of fish farming companies fell during today’s trading, in some cases even by 20%. Industry officials warned that the government was endangering the country’s prosperity. Geir Ove Eastmark, head of the Norwegian Federation of Marine Bioresources, told the FT: “The government is actually proposing to kill one of the most important industries for Norway’s future.” And, according to the head of the Energy Norway lobby group, Knut Kroepelin, “the tax measures introduced by the government could lead to a deeper and longer energy crisis.”

Alena Miklashevskaya