Norwegian government reaches agreement for 25% salmon tax

The Norwegian Labor Party, the Center Party, the Liberal Party and Patient Focus have agreed on a ground rent tax on aquaculture.

May 25, 2023

The Norwegian Labor Party, the Center Party, the Liberal Party and Patient Focus have agreed on a ground rent tax on aquaculture. The proposal is based on the model presented by the government, with the following changes:

The effective tax rate is reduced from 35% to 25%.
The valuation discount in wealth tax is increased from 50% to 75%.
The host municipalities and counties are guaranteed a higher income from the Aquaculture Fund for 2023.
In addition, several request proposals are put forward to strengthen the environmental profile and contribute to technology development.

“After a long process, we are now ensuring that the Storting adopts the principle of ground rent in aquaculture. The parties to the agreement also secure a majority for a tax rate of 25% and an increase in the discount on the property tax value for farming concessions to 75%,” said the Centre Party's Geir Pollestad.

“The Liberal Party has won approval for our main demand to lower the tax rate to 25%, in addition to several environmental victories. Coastal Norway cannot afford for the Storting to play political games and create uncertainty around one of our most important industries. This is a good solution for the coast, the aquaculture industry and the community,” said Sveinung Rotevatn.

“Patient Focus is happy to contribute to the tax being lower and getting a better arrangement than it could otherwise have. For Patient Focus, it has been important to put in place a solution that secures district workplaces, which is better for the smaller family and locally owned facilities, which contributes to an environmentally friendly development in the industry and makes the industry still attractive to young founders and others who want to invest in the industry,” said parliamentary representative Irene Ojala.

The agreement means that the parties will put forward a joint proposal for consideration of the case in the Storting on May 31. There are more parties than the parties to the agreement who agree to the principle of ground rent tax in the aquaculture industry.