Industrialist Trond Mohn of Bergen, known for being one of Norway’s biggest philanthropists, also paid the most tax of any other Norwegian last year. Kjell Inge Røkke paid the next-largest amount, on a much bigger net worth but listing zero in actual income.
Mohn paid NOK 135.55 million (nearly USD 21 million) in taxes to Norway, after reporting net worth of NOK 4.56 billion and income of NOK 304.23 million. Røkke was being widely reported as “richest” in Norway on Friday, but that’s up for debate given the intricacies of the figures used in tax returns, which can be full of deductions and write-offs. Taxable income is often far removed from income in real terms.
In Røkke’s case, he did list the highest taxable net worth in Norway, of NOK 11.79 billion, more than twice that of Norway’s next “richest,” 19-year-old heiress Katharina Gamlemshaug Andresen of Oslo. Røkke listed taxable income, however, of zero, and paid NOK 130.2 million in taxes.
Andresen, daughter of tobacco heir and investor Johan Henrik Andresen, listed net worth of NOK 4.64 billion, zero taxable income and taxes paid of NOK 51 million. Her taxbill was much lower than Trond Mohn’s, despite fortunes that seemed roughly equivalent, but she listed no taxable income.
Trond Mohn’s son Frederik ranked fourth on the list published by Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) on Friday morning, with a fortune nearly as big as his father’s, half the income and taxes paid of NOK 91 million. The family wealth derives from their venture into production of pumps for the shipping and offshore industries.
Svein Støle of finance firm Pareto in Oslo ranked fifth on the list that includes many traditional shipping families like Høegh, Rasmussen, Knudsen, Ugland, Klaveness, Wilhelmsen and Bergesen.
Stein Erik Hagen, who normally ranks on other lists as among Norway’s 10 richest, landed in 23rd place on the tax list, with hotel and real estate tycoon Olav Thon ranking even lower than him. That indicates the danger of placing too much real market value on the numbers presented in the tax lists, but in Thon’s case, he turned over most of his fortune last year to a foundation bearing his name and over which he still has a good deal of control. Hagen was listed as having paid NOK 12.8 million in taxes, while Thon paid NOK 30.9 million, NOK 95 million less than last year.
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund