US EditionNorway's lesson for Europe on wealth taxes: let some millionaires go
Despite a spike in millionaire emigration, Norway's wealth tax revenue now accounts for 0.6% of GDP, balancing equity goals against economic concerns.
- Recently, Norway's tightened wealth tax has prompted a marked exodus of millionaires, with Norway on track to shed another 150 this year to destinations including the UAE, U.S., and Italy.
- The Labour Party implemented higher levies and tightened exit rules, closing deferment loopholes in 2024; Norwegian taxpayers pay 1% on net wealth between 1.76 million and 20.7 million crowns, with a 37.8% exit tax on unrealised gains above 3 million crowns.
- Research indicates the tax burden falls mainly on the richest, while revenue from the wealth tax has climbed to 0.6% of GDP and around 40% of emigrants are business owners.
- The election made the wealth levy politically central, and the Labour Party's return keeps the tax in place while the Labour government's plan seeks a grand bargain on tax reform over two years and state finances need other revenue sources.
- Several governments and cities are monitoring Norway's experience, but its oil wealth and social cohesion make the model hard to copy; Britain, France and Italy have chosen different wealth levy approaches.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Norway’s lesson for Europe on wealth taxes: let some millionaires go
With a wealth tax dating back to 1892 and a culture of openness that allows citizens to view the tax returns of others, Norway has more experience than most in squeezing the rich. The takeaway: a wealth tax will scare off some millionaires, but if set broadly enough, revenues can still be worth it.
In his village near the lake of Lucerna, Borger Borgenhaug leads the pain of his nephews and the smell of the North Sea in a clear night of summer. The storm has become a great real estate saying that this is the price he pays to...
OSLO.- Sitting in his lakeside mansion in the Swiss city of Lucerne, Borgenhaug misses his grandchildren and the smell of the Nordic sea on a clear summer night.The carpenter converted into a real estate tycoon says that this is the price he pays to escape the reinforced Norwegian wealth tax, an annual tax that has brought hundreds of millionaires abroad and at the same time sustained one of the most equal societies in the world.“The political c…
Sitting in his lakeside villa in the Swiss city of Lucerne, Borgenhaug misses his grandchildren and the scent of the Nordic sea on a clear summer night. The carpenter converted into a real estate entrepreneur claims that this is the price he has to pay to escape the reinforced tax on Norway's heritage, an annual tax that has led hundreds of millionaires to live abroad, while at the same time underpinned one of the most egalitarian societies in t…
The super-rich are leaving Norway en masse after the wealth tax was increased. But the government insists it is a matter of fairness. And the revenues are satisfactory.
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