Survey delivers overwhelming "no" to salmon tax

Nearly eight out of ten responses to the Norwegian Government’s salmon tax proposal have come out against the plan, a survey carried out for the industry employers' organisation Seafood Norway has found. The opposition includes dozens of county areas and coastal municipalities which are likely to suffer if the proposal goes ahead in its current form. They findings come from a detailed survey carried out by two students from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The good news for those that depend on salmon farming for their livelihood is that the Oslo government has recently signalled it is prepared to row back on its original plan, which could have saddled salmon companies with an additional 40% tax. The researchers talked to 335 people and groups on the consultation responses requested by the government, omitting anonymous reactions. The survey found that that 262 (78%) were against the plan, while 27 (8%) agreed with it and 46 (24%) were more or less neutral on the issue. The tax has been a major talking point within the Norwegian business community over the past three or four months. Meanwhile, the government is reported to be receiving a similar response from its own consultation request. There were 350 responses to the government’s survey, including workers , their unions, local authorities and business and financial authorities, which can be read on the government website. Here too, the overwhelming response has been “no” with very few in favour. SalMar said, for example: “This is gambling with Norway’s future. The tax is not neutral as the government claims.”