Media leaks suggest drastic tax proposals.
At ten o’clock this morning the Committee on Aquaculture will present its report on how Norwegian fish farmers should be taxed in the future.
There has been no shortage of media leaks from the committee. Early Monday morning, Dagens Næringsliv reports that the committee has decided on an extraordinary tax, on the use of common resources, similar to the petroleum industry and the power industry today.
“This will ensure that investments that are profitable before tax are also profitable after basic interest tax. A surplus-based base rate tax will be a precise tool for collecting a percentage of the base rate to the community, especially from existing permits,” the report states.
The majority proposes a 40 percent rate for basic interest tax on aquaculture. It is estimated to generate a profit of around €690 million.
In the report, the committee argues that a surplus-based ground rate tax will be adjusted to profitability over time, and will not result in “the adverse effect on investments that a gross production tax will have”.
“A gross production charge will not be adapted to variations in profitability and could have very unfortunate consequences for the aquaculture industry in Norway,” the report says.
The Aquaculture Tax Committee is chaired by economics professor Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe at the University of Oslo.
