The Norwegian parliament, the Storting, has officially adopted the aquaculture tax proposal of 25 percent following a vote Wednesday.
After eight months of debate, the controversial ground rent tax for the aquaculture industry was adopted by 93 to 76 votes.
The government first proposed a new 40 percent tax on the salmon industry in September.
The agreed salmon tax proposal is based on the model put forward 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.
The final proposal, was agreed to last week by the Labor Party (AP), the Center Party (SP), the Liberal Party (Venstre) and Patient Focus, which gave them the required majority in the Norwegian Parliament.
The minimum threshold at which firms begin to pay the tax of NOK 70 million (€5.9 million/$6.3 million) is unchanged from the proposal put forward in March.
Even though the matter had in reality been decided before Wednesday's vote, the debate in the Storting lasted for more than four hours.
The salmon industry was far from satisfied with the settlement and the tax rate of 25 percent when it became known last week.
The CEO of the world's largest salmon farmer slammed the proposal as "neither sustainable nor forward-looking."
In a statement, Seafood Norway CEO, Geir Ove Ystmark, lamented the "major weaknesses" in the tax model.
"The model is bureaucratic, demanding for the companies to administer, and it is a tax that is introduced retroactively," he said.
Ystmark also pointed out that the total tax burden along the coast is still far too high, even though the level has been adjusted downwards both from the government's first and their revised proposals.
