Budget more expansive than expected

The senior economist at Norway’s biggest bank, Kyrre Aamdal, said the state budget presented to Parliament by the left-center government on Thursday held “no big surprises” but was “a bit more expansive” that expected. Aamdal told news service dn.no that he thinks the budget, on the whole, was in line with the comments and warnings [...]

A tighter budget for turbulent times

Norway’s left-center government presented what it calls a tighter state budget for 2012 with a large surplus, amidst warnings that even the strong Norwegian economy won’t be unaffected by turbulent financial markets abroad. The budget, though, didn’t appear quite as tight as government leaders have claimed. It amounted to NOK 1,006 billion and includes large [...]

Fortune tax stirs up new storm

Norwegian labour union boss Roar Flåthen is normally a great ally of Norway’s Labour-led government but now even he has spoken out against one of the country’s most unique and controversial taxes, on individual fortunes. The government is resisting Flåthen’s initiative, mostly for fear of losing the revenues it brings. Every year, in addition to [...]

Parliament opens with talk on terror

King Harald V formally opened Norway’s 156th session of Parliament on Monday by reading aloud the traditional trontalen (the speech from the throne) on behalf of the government. This year it centered on the terrorist attacks of July 22, and how the government is responding. The attacks, intoned the country’s monarch, “were directed against Utøya [...]

Higher tax set to raise food prices

Just months after the left-center government wrapped up an investigation into high food prices in Norway, it’s reportedly prepared to contribute to price hikes itself by increasing the tax on food items. The proposal met immediate opposition but seems likely to move forward. The government will present its new state budget for 2012 next week, [...]

Stoltenberg braces for budget bashing

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has no doubt that his government’s state budget, set to be released next week, will meet lots of opposition. He repeated earlier warnings that it will be a tight budget, allowing for far less government spending, but he insisted restraint will help Norway tackle the ill effects of a world economy [...]

Government’s budget battle begins

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg gathered his cabinet ministers on Sunday at a traditional hotel in Jevnaker for the annual conference that kicks off budget negotiations among the various ministries. They all try to put on a happy face, but the budget conference is known as being a tough few days that’s reduced some top politicians [...]

Royals get modest pay hikes

The Norwegian government wasn’t as generous with its budget allocations for the royal family this year, but King Harald did get enough money to ensure a new roof over his head in the palace. The Royal Palace in Oslo went through extensive and costly renovations during the 1990s, but the roof reportedly was left out. [...]

Good fortune helped ward off cuts

Norway’s left-center coalition government could heave a huge sigh of relief  when its members had finally agreed on next year’s state budget. An extra, welcome burst of revenue into state coffers combined with some lower expenditures than expected allowed Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his cabinet to avoid painful budget cuts. Stoltenberg and his finance [...]

State budgets for better times ahead

Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen unveiled a new state budget in the Norwegian Parliament on Tuesday that contains no major cuts, a few tax hikes and less use of the oil money that keeps flowing into Norway’s treasury. It’s all based on expectations that 2011 will be a good year for the Norwegian economy. Johnsen’s predecessor, [...]

Transport sector comes out well

MORE BUDGET DETAILS: The Norwegian government has followed up on plans to boost funding for the country’s beleaguered railway and railroad system. State railroad Jernbaneverket is getting a double-digit boost in its budget allocation. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reports that the railroad will get NOK 11.5 billion in next year’s state budget, an increase of 13.4 [...]

Five embassies to close, while others get a boost

Norway’s new annual state budget was being rolled out on Tuesday, and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s proposals for the next year include the closure of five embassies from Nicaragua to East Timor. Several other large embassies, however, will be strengthened. Støre told newspaper Aftenposten that it’s all a matter of priorities, and necessary to [...]

Revised state budget cuts spending

Norway’s left-center coalition proposed a revised state budget on Tuesday that cuts use of oil revenues by around NOK 17 billion. Some areas, though, will still get extra funding, like the long-neglected railroad system. Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen of the Labour Party said that Norway’s economy was expected to grow by about 2 percent in [...]

Budget cuts may not be so big

The government ministers’ dreaded annual budget conference doesn’t appear to have been as bad as expected. Coaxed and cheered by a singing, poetry-reading Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen, and by numbers showing higher employment and tax revenues, the ministers reportedly can avoid drastic cuts in their next state budget proposal. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that [...]

Budget battle begins, cuts loom

While thousands of people streamed to Holmenkollen in Oslo on Sunday, for a sunny afternoon of ski jumping, Norway’s government ministers headed out of town. They’ll be jumping through fire for the next two days, at a difficult annual conference where they must hash out the next state budget. This year may be more difficult [...]

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