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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 

The government rules out a fuel discount, inflation at its highest levels since the 80s, 2,000 Flyr flights potentially disrupted and more news from Norway on Friday. 

Pictured is somebody filling up their car with petrol.
Fuel prices have risen 20 percent in Austria just since May. Photo by Dawn McDonald on Unsplash.

The government says no to fuel discounts this summer

Petrol and diesel prices will not be discounted this summer, even if the cost of fuel reaches 30 kroner per litre, Norway’s finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum has said. 

However, he said that the government would look at its policy on fuel tax and duties in the autumn when putting together a budget for 2023. 

“There are no changes in fuel taxes now, but in the autumn, we will look at tax and duty measures when we make a new budget for next year,” he said. 

READ ALSO: How and where to get the cheapest fuel in Norway

Inflation continues to rise

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.2 percent from April to May and 5.7 percent over the past 12 months, taking inflation to its highest level since the 1980s. 

The CPI adjusted for “core inflation” rose by 3.4 percent between May 2021 and May 2022, new figures from Statistics Norway released Friday morning have revealed

The national stats agency has said that it expects interest rates to rise ahead of Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, schedule. 

“The interest rate must rise because unemployment is at a record low, inflation is at a record high,” Thomas Von Bracher from Statistics Norway said. 

Delays with plane delivery lead to summer disruption for Flyr

Around 2,000 bookings with budget airline Flyr face being disrupted due to the late delivery of a Boeing aircraft. 

“Dear Guest, Delays in the delivery of our new Boeing 737-8 from the Seattle plant are unfortunately causing changes to some of our flights,” the company wrote in an email to customers. 

The plane was meant to join the airline’s fleet on June 29th but will not arrive until July 26th. 

The company has told newspaper VG that up to 2,000 flights could be affected due to the delay as they had sold tickets and planned their summer schedule on having the 11th aircraft in their fleet. 

Flyr has said that it would try and offer customers whose flights may be disrupted or cancelled tickets for another flight on the same days or a refund. 

Armed forces terminate helicopter deal

The Armed Forces have announced that it will terminate its contract for the NH90 helicopter, send the aircraft back and demand a refund of five billion kroner. 

The helicopters are being sent back for several reasons. These were delays in delivery, time-consuming maintenance, and the number of errors being far higher than expected. 

The machines were initially meant to be delivered between 2005-2008, but the delivery was significantly delayed. By 2018, the Armed Forces had only received eight of the 14 helicopters ordered. 

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For members

TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 

PM says he can still win the next election, commuters reminded of tax deductions, and other news from Norway on Friday. 

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 

Jonas Gahr Støre says election win is still possible 

Despite some torrid times for the government parties in the polls, PM Jonas Gahr Støre has said that it is still possible for him to win the next election. 

“It is an election that we can and must win. It is entirely possible. It is very even between the two sides in Norwegian politics,” Støre told Norwegian newswire NTB. 

“I have a very strong belief that when people feel that the economic outlook is improving, then the results of the policy we pursue also become more visible and clearer to people. I think that can give us increased support,” he added. 

Støre pointed to an expected rise in weal rages this year as a sign things were improving for the public. 

Vedum reminds commuters about tax deductions 

Finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and Nina Schanke Funnemark have reminded commuters of the tax deductions available to them ahead of next week’s tax deadline. 

The current government has increased the travel allowance for people with a long commute to work, but this part of the tax return must be filled in manually. 

“The tax return has become very simple, and much is filled in for you automatically, but if you have a claim to travel deductions, you must, as a general rule, enter this yourself in the tax return,” Vedum said. 

For 2023, commuters can get a tax deduction for daily round trips between their home and work of more than 37 kilometres for 230 working days of the year.

Meanwhile, Schanke Funnemark said anyone unsure about potential deductions could consult the Norwegian Tax Administration for more information. 

“If you are unsure whether you are entitled to a deduction, I would recommend checking the Tax Agency’s deduction guide. You can find it on our website,” she said. 

Sami name for Oslo approved 

Norway’s mapping authority will reverse its original decision and approve the Sami name Oslove for the Norwegian capital. 

The decision had previously been rejected due to the mapping authority believing it was not in line with the Place Names Act. 

However, the authority has now changed its position. 

Chaotic day for air travel 

Thursday was a chaotic day for air travel in Norway due to a temporary closure of the airspace in the south. 

Even after the issues had been resolved, there was still a large number of delays and cancellations for passengers. 

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