Rich Norwegians leave their country because of wealth tax

A record number of ultra-rich Norwegians are leaving Norway for low-tax countries after the center-left government raised wealth taxes to 1.1 percent.

More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and billionaires left the country in 2022, according to Guardian research from the Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper. That’s more than the total number of super-rich who have left the country in the last 13 years.

While more ultra-rich were expected to leave the country this year due to a wealth tax hike in November, the flight cost the government tens of millions of crowns in tax revenue.

MOVING TO SWITZERLAND

According to the news, many of the rich moved to Switzerland, where taxes were much lower. Kjell Inge Røkke, a 64-year-old industrialist with an estimated wealth of about 19.6 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.8 billion), announced that he is moving to the Swiss region of Lugano.

The businessman, who is the fourth richest Norwegian, said the region is a great place with a central location in Europe and its taxes are reasonable. The relocation of Røkke will cost Norway around SEK 175 million in lost tax revenue per year.

TOTAL WEALTH 600 BILLION KRON

Businessman Tord Ueland Kolstad, who is worth approximately 1.5 billion kroons, also moved to Lucerne, Switzerland.

“This is not what I wanted, but the stricter tax rules of the current government left me no choice as a responsible founder and owner,” Kolstad told Norwegian television channel TV 2 in an interview.

Norwegian Business School professor Ole Gjems-Onstad said he estimated the total wealth of those who left the country to be at least 600 billion kroner ($57 billion).