The salmon billionaire speaks out against the government’s introduction of the salmon tax and threatens to move out of the country.
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– Those who are supposed to be our leading trustees have not yet had the pleasure of chasing some of the Kvarv Group’s owners out of the country. No one knows what the future holds, not even about our owners’ residential address.
Gustav Witzøe is the largest owner in Salmar through his investment company Kvarv. In the annual report, he thinks about moving out of the country.
– For the time being, we are holding our ground, hoping for a new government and a new majority in the Storting in two years’ time. It puts our patience to the test, but we still have the faith to make the impossible possible in the country we are so happy in, even though we unfortunately currently have a government that is more interested in making the possible impossible, he writes.
The Storting passed the salmon tax on 31 May this year. The basic rent tax on aquaculture, as it is formally called, involves a special tax of 25 per cent on the basic rent in trout and salmon farming.
– Looked into our eyes
– A powerful suction pipe into the companies through the ground rent tax that has a structure, and a level that none of our foreign competitors are exposed to, writes Witzøe about the salmon tax.
This is the basic interest tax
The government is introducing a special tax of 25 per cent on the basic rent in trout and salmon farming. The basic rent is defined as the value of a common natural resource, and is shown as extra profit in companies that are allowed to use the resource through concessions. The valuation discount in wealth tax is increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. The host municipalities and counties are guaranteed a higher income from the Aquaculture Fund for 2023. The distribution means that 45 per cent goes to the state and 55 goes to the host municipalities and counties. The production tax is increased to 90 øre per kilo. In addition, several requests are put forward to strengthen the environmental profile and contribute to technology development. Show more
In the report, he further writes that it was a sad day when Norway introduced the tax. He believes that the people of the coast should have been more skeptical of the current government.
– Leading politicians (who now govern the country) came to visit before the last general election, looked us in the eye and promised that the ground rent tax would not be introduced. Common sense dictated that they were telling the truth. No other country has been exposed to such a tax, and most countries are keen to strengthen their industry, not drain it of capital, writes Witzøe.
He refers to Finansavisens calculation which indicates that Kvarv must pay one million kroner every day in extra tax to live in Norway. Kvarv can record a profit after tax of NOK 2.4 billion in 2022.
– An extra million a day or more to secure jobs and build Norwegian industry would have been good for the Kvarv Group and for Norwegian value creation and employment.
2023-08-22 08:47:22
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