Norwegian Business Owners Relocate To Low-Tax Switzerland Amid Wealth Tax Rise
Concerns arise over taxes imposed by centre-left government in Oslo.
Over 30 of wealthy Norwegians have left their native country for Switzerland and other countries over the past year as entrepreneurs and business owners voice concerns over the wealth taxes policies introduced by the centre-left government in Oslo. Public filings to Norway’s population registry show at least 30 billionaires and millionaires left the Scandinavian nation for the lower-tax Alpine jurisdiction in 2022. An example is the fishing-to-oil tycoon Kjell Inge Røkke, (estimatedly worth $4.7 billion according to Forbes). Others have moved to nearby Cyprus, Italy and even Canada.
More are predicted to follow suit as they are perturbed by tax changes they say hurt the country’s competitiveness, according to businessmen and tax consultants. Norway’s wealth tax, one of the few which still remains in Europe has long been a bone of contention for the country’s wealthy.
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Fredrik Haga, a 31-year-old Norwegian Co-founder of $1bn-valued cryptocurrency data business Dune. Recently having made headlines for registering his switch from Norway to Zug in Switzerland says “I had to choose: am I based in Norway or do I want this company to succeed? It’s not about not wanting to pay taxes. It’s about paying taxes on money I don’t have,” in an interview. Switzerland also has a wealth tax but offers deals for foreigners. The Norwegian native said he had little to gain for speaking out but that he wanted to sound the alarm for entrepreneurs and Norway’s nascent start-up scene.
For entrepreneurs and startup founders such as Haga, most of whose wealth is tied up in his company, the structure of the tax can lead them to take out big dividends or even sell a potion of the business. Yet because Dune is lossmaking but growing fast, he had no ability to arrange a dividend and does not want to sell a stake. “I either have to take money out of the company or move,” said Haga, who feared that his next tax bill would be several times his disposable income.
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