The hotel king explains why he believes he should not pay the huge tax claim.
PLAINTIFF: Petter Stordalen on his way to Oslo District Court. Photo: Mathias Ogre, E24Published: Published:
Less than 20 minutes ago
The Norwegian Tax Agency believes Petter Stordalen owes an amount in excess of DKK 200 million.
Stordalen disagrees, and has taken legal action against the state.
The central question in the case is what purpose he had when he bought the company Oslo Properties in 2013 – the company that is now called Strawberry Fields.
The company had paid in a lot of equity, but was heavily in debt. This opened the way for Stordalen to withdraw large sums without paying dividend tax.
Petter Stordalen believes he should not pay tax on the almost 800 million he has withdrawn from Strawberry Fields. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
The heart of the dispute is whether Stordalen bought the company to take advantage of a favorable tax position, or whether the purchase was carried out with business motives.
– Must go to the Storting
Stordalen lawyer Kaare Andreas Shetelig will give his opening lecture on Monday.
He believes that the tax regulations are a security in the business world, and says that the tax authorities are now glossing over case law when they try to tax the dividends.
– It is his subjective motive that the court must consider. And it’s a bit difficult, what kind of evidence do we have?, asks Shetelig, and highlights previous newspaper reports from when the acquisition was carried out. Stordalen is quoted there as the reason why he made the purchase.
Shetelig believes they show that the motive was business opportunities, and that it is unreasonable for Stordalen to tax the money he has taken out.
– It is a certainty that money you have injected into the company, you can take it out again, says Shetelig.
Lawyer Kaare Andreas Shetelig leads the case for Petter Stordalen and Strawberry. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
He refers to the tax law and “nearly 100 years of practice”, and says Stordalen is a “good businessman” who saw an opportunity in 2013.
– He didn’t buy to get hold of a share position, but he saw a business opportunity, he says.
He believes the Tax Agency is trying to change the law by collecting the money.
– The way to do this is to go to the Storting and change the law, says Shetelig.
Tax advantage
From the purchase in 2013 and in the years up to 2021, Stordalen has taken out tax-free dividends of almost NOK 800 million and thus saved large amounts in dividend tax.
In 2022, the Tax Appeals Board came up with a decision which said that these payments should not be tax-free at all – they should be counted as dividends.
At the time of purchase, dividend tax was 28 per cent. The rate has changed in the following years, but in any case it will be more than 200 million tax kroner.
Stordalen did not want to speak to the press when he appeared in the Oslo district court on Monday, but has previously said in an interview with E24 that he believes the tax case is an example of what “makes Norway fantastic”.
– That we have a judiciary that can decide who is right. We have a discussion, then the court gets to decide who is right, said Stordalen about the disagreement.
Billions for good
As the owner of a company, you should not, in principle, need to pay tax on withdrawing money you have paid in yourself.
The owners before Stordalen had done this on a large scale. They had raised around NOK three billion over the years, before the sale in 2013.
This money was mostly lost when Stordalen took over. The company he bought consisted only of debts of 230 million, a claim against another company worth 400 million and otherwise had no activity.
With three billion in paid-in capital, you have three billion “for good” in tax-free payments. Basically, such a tax position is carried forward if the company is sold.
However, the right to tax-free dividends can be waived “in cases where the purpose of the purchase is to exploit the tax positions”, as the government attorney writes.
A week has been set aside for the trial.
2024-03-04 08:59:52
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