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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

Oslo in favour of capping taxi prices, Centre Party to cut wealth tax for business owners, and applications for compensation after Storm Hans still waiting. This and other news on Tuesday.

Published: 17 September 2024 09:11 CEST
Pictured is a view of the Munch Museum
Find out what's going on in Norway with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is a view of the Munch Museum Photo by Eirik Skarstein on Unsplash

Oslo in favour of capped taxi prices

Oslo municipality supports the proposal to introduce a maximum price for taxis in the capital.

The city council has said this proposal will crack down on unscrupulous firms and make the situation better for consumers.

The maximum rate will be 16 kroner and 70 øre per kilometer.

“The bulk of the complaints since 2020 relate to the price of the taxi journey. The customer consistently feels that they have paid too high a price/overcharge, and that they are rejected when they complain to the taxi driver,” Environment and Transport Council Marit Kristine Vea said in a statement.

“Several of the complaints are from tourists/driving from Gardermoen,” Vea added.

More than 1,000 applications for Storm Hans compensation still waiting

The Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture still has more than 1,000 applications for natural damage outstanding following Storm Hans last August.

Some 45 million kroner in damages has been paid out, the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture has said.

“The extreme weather last year unfortunately led to an extraordinarily large caseload, with many difficult cases and long processing times,” managing director of the agricultural directorate Eli Reistad said.

Centre Party to reduce wealth tax burden for business owners

The Centre Party would reduce the wealth tax for small and medium-sized businesses if elected to parliament in 2025.

“Here we point very clearly where we want to go, and we want to help business owners of small and medium-sized businesses all over Norway, because we want to develop the whole of Norway,” Per Martin Sandtrøen of the Center Party told NRK.

The party would increase the tax-free limit for smaller business owners to ensure small business owners get a larger tax break than the wealthiest.

Norwegian county with highest forest fire risk in Europe

Finnmark is the region with the highest forest fire risk in Europe. This has been caused by an unusually dry spell in north Norway.

Norway’s preparedness directorate (DSB) has put in special emergency preparedness measures in Alta and Tana.

Meanwhile, the public has been asked to be mindful of open fires.

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TODAY IN NORWAY

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

Norway's first female party leader dead, authorities not prepared for dementia boom, and unsatisfied bank customers. This and other news on Monday.

Published: 16 September 2024 07:42 CEST
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday

Authorities not ready for a surge in dementia cases

Just under half, 49 percent, of Norway’s authorities are not prepared for a doubling in dementia patients, which is expected to occur in the future due to the country’s ageing population.

Some 48 percent said they were sufficiently prepared, according to the survey by Sentio on behalf of Nasjonalforeningen for folkehelsen, a charity organisation that combats dementia and cardiovascular disease.

“It is critical that the municipalities act now to equip themselves better. People with dementia and their relatives cannot wait any longer,” Tone Poulsson Torgersen from the organisation told Norwegian newswire NTB.

Authorities in western Norway felt best equipped to handle the increase in dementia, while municipalities in northern Norway said they felt least prepared.

Norway’s first female party leader dead

The first leader of the Socialist Left Party (SV) and the first female leader of a major political party in Norway, Berit Ås, has died at the age of 96.

“It is with sadness that we can announce that SV’s first leader and the country’s first female party leader, Berit Ås, has passed away. Ås died on Saturday evening in her own home with her family around her, after a short period of hospitalisation,” the Socialist Left Party wrote in a statement.

The current leader of SV, Kirsti Bergstø, paid tribute to Ås.

“Berit has shaped both the Norwegian left and the public. She always carried with her a deep sense of justice and was active until the end. We are grateful for that,” she said.

Bank customers in Norway are more unsatisfied than ever

While banks’ earnings have gone through the roof, business broadsheet Dagens Næringsliv reports that customers in Norway are the most unsatisfied they have ever been with the country’s financial institutions.

Customer satisfaction has fallen to 66.8 out of 100, the lowest level measured since Epsi Norway began measuring satisfaction in 2004.

“Safe and stable banks are important in troubled and uncertain times, but the impression that the banks are having an interest rate party while many customers are struggling to make ends meet can be perceived as unsympathetic,” the report on customer satisfaction by Epsi Norway read.

Centre Party wants to draw people away from Oslo

The Centre Party (SP) said it wants to make it easier for people to buy homes in rural areas outside of Oslo.

“You do not benefit from the same type of increase in value in these municipalities as in central areas. In some places, it is simply a big risk if you want to build,” Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Centre Party deputy leader, told NTB.

New measures proposed by the party for between 2025 and 2029 (after the next general election) will make it easier and cheaper to get mortgages in rural areas.

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