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TAXES

What is Norway’s ‘tax list’ and what does it tell us?

Norway releases the tax information of its residents every year, meaning everyone's tax returns become open to see, whether they're a billionaire, a celebrity, or even the prime minister.

Published: 8 December 2020 16:23 CET
Updated: 6 December 2023 09:48 CET
Pictured are 50 and 500 kroner notes.
The tax list is released annually and includes all tax payers. Pictured are 500 and 50 kroner notes. Photo by Nils S. Aasheim/Norges Bank

In a custom that might seem outlandish in other countries, Norway publishes the tax records of every individual in the country once annually.

The country has long published tax returns, and since 2001 the information has been available as an online database on the website of the Norwegian Tax Administration. 

Around 1.7 trillion kroner in taxes in Norway were paid last year, according to figures from the Norwegian Tax Administration.

The figures mark the highest amount of tax ever paid in Norway. Just over 1 trillion kroner was paid in tax for the income year 2021.

An increase in the petroleum tax was behind the record figure. Around 883 billion kroner was paid to the Norwegian state in petroleum tax last year.

There were around 4.3 million wage earners, pensioners and self-employed people in Norway in 2022, and they paid 655 billion kroner in tax.

Gustav Witzøe is the wealthiest person in Norway according to this year’s tax lists. According to the tax lists, he had a fortune of 26.5 billion kroner in 2022.

What information is included on the list?

Information including name, year of birth and tax municipality can be seen on the open tax list, along with the net income, net fortune and the amount of tax paid.

It is not possible to hide one’s information from the tax list. 

What doesn’t the list tell us?

Some factors can result in information being withheld from the list. These include if the information can reveal a confidential client relationship; and people whose addresses are legally unlisted on the public register (folkeregister).

Information on people with no fixed address; people under the age of 17 and deceased persons is also not included.

The tax list shows net incomes with all tax deductions taken into account. People who have large outstanding loans can appear to have a lower income on the tax list than their actual gross income would predict, if this was visible.

Other deductions which are applied to the income information are the minimum deduction (minstefradrag), which is designed to cover standard expenses connected to employment; deductions for families; and deductions for losses made from sales of property or shares.

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As such, it is possible to have a high actual income, but for the tax list to show a lower income.

Similarly, the figures given for personal fortunes may not be completely accurate, because a home, for example, may be given a lower value for tax purposes than its real value. As such, someone who owns an expensive home may be worth more than their ‘personal fortune’ on the tax list.

The numbers are based on preliminary tax figures from the Norwegian Tax Administration. If someone has a large debt, this will be deducted from their net fortune.

How can you search for people’s incomes in Norway? 

If you are a Norwegian resident, you can search the tax lists here, simply by logging on with your national MinID or BankID code. 

Browsing the tax lists is no longer anonymous and residents are notified when somebody searches for their information in the tax lists. This has reduced the number of searches from 16.5 million in 2012 to 1.3 million in 2022.

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NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Constitution Day, or May 17th, is a fantastic occasion in Norway. Foreigners living in the country also love getting in on the celebrations – but a few things about the day can be confusing. 

Published: 15 May 2024 16:06 CEST
Updated: 17 May 2024 14:27 CEST
What foreigners in Norway find confusing about May 17th 

Often referred to as Norway’s national day, May 17th is much beloved in Norway. The parades and festivities are a must-see (and also pretty hard to miss) for anyone in Norway on the day. 

There are plenty of traditions that can seem strange from the outside looking in, including bunads, parades, singing the national anthem, and waving flags. Even after you’ve experienced them a few times, they can still feel puzzling. 

How to celebrate 

One aspect that can confuse foreigners, even those with a few May 17ths under the belt, is how exactly the date should be celebrated. 

While the parades are an obvious starting point, traditions can vary across families, cities and regions. 

Many will start May 17th with a combination of a typical Norwegian breakfast, with or without champagne, and then go to watch the parades. 

After that, things become more unclear. Some choose to celebrate the rest of the day with family, grilling or playing garden games. 

Others choose to party hard, whether at parties, bars, or special May 17th events. 

Meanwhile, some cities have large gatherings after the parades, torch processions, or fireworks in the evening. 

Our tip would be to choose what you like most about May 17th and go with the flow. 

Thankfully, as long as you don’t do something stupid like desecrate the Norwegian flag or spend the day antagonising people, there doesn’t appear to be a “right or wrong” way to celebrate the occasion. 

What to wear 

Outfit choice can be tricky on May 17th. People normally dress their best, be it in a traditional bunad, a suit, or other smart clothes. 

For foreigners, this can be tough. For starters, most probably do not feel Norwegian enough to wear a bunad but want to dress nicely for the occasion as a show of respect. 

Therefore, finding something that makes you feel comfortable, doesn’t feel underdressed, and is also appropriate for whatever the weather is can be a tricky balance. 

Some people wear folk costumes from where they are from, which for the most part goes down well as very few Norwegians hold an attitude of “this is our day and not yours”.

What other people are wearing

This is perhaps more the case for newcomers to Norway, but seeing a bunad for the first time can be strange. Seeing thousands of people decked out in “national costumes” (as they are sometimes referred to) can be overwhelming. 

Given that the costumes date back centuries, seeing the old mixed with the modern can also be surreal—for example, seeing someone in a bunad whizz by on an e-scooter. 

Even as you become more accustomed to seeing national costumes and learning more about them, you could confuse yourself trying to work out the origin of the bunad given the designs, colours and embroidery unique to different regions of Norway. 

The national pride

As the day marks the signing of the Norwegian constitution, it’s no surprise that its themes centre on national pride and identity and feature plenty of flag waving and singing of the national anthem. 

This can be puzzling for foreigners, as in some places, patriotism and national pride have been hijacked by populist and far-right movements and used as a tool to cause division.

Other foreigners may also be critical of the idea of a monarchy and how heavily they feature in the day’s proceedings. 

However, in Norway, no one really questions these things. This is just as well because, for the most part, May 17th demonstrates how you can celebrate a country’s essence without hijacking it for the wrong reasons. 

The locals in Norway generally choose to include those who also wish to celebrate May 17th rather than exclude them. 

It’s the fact that Norway is able to maintain a strong sense of national pride on May 17th while remaining inclusive that some may find confusing. 

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