Online technology ushered in another “end of an era” in Norway this week, when state tax authorities announced that they no longer will be send out their annual “skattekort” (tax cards) to all of the country’s 3.8 million working residents.
The cards, actually a form denoting the worker’s tax class and eligibility for deductions, determine tax withholding amounts for the year ahead. Workers have then been required to hand in their skattekort to their employers by early January, or risk not receiving a paycheck.
Not any longer. Tax information will still be sent to individual taxpayers before Christmas, but there will be no card to tear off and hand in at work. From January 1, the authorities at state tax agency Skatteetaten are moving to towards so-called “electronic tax cards” after several years of planning.
Employers must now retrieve their workers’ tax cards from Skatteetaten’s data base themselves. Employees remain responsible, though, for ensuring that the information sent about them is correct. It will still be the responsibility of the individual taxpayer to take up any errors or disagreements on deductions to the tax authorities.
newsinenglish.no staff
