A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after increasing wealth taxes to 1.1% in 2023
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are leaving Norway for low-tax countries following the center-left government's decision to increase wealth taxes to 1.1%.
In 2022, over 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires departed the country, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv. This number exceeds the total count of super-rich individuals who left during the previous 13 years. With the increase in wealth tax implemented in November, even more wealthy individuals are expected to leave this year, costing the government tens of millions in lost tax revenue.
Many have relocated to Switzerland, where taxes are significantly lower. Among them is billionaire fisherman-turned-industrial-tycoon Kjell Inge Røkke, who moved to Lugano, an Italian-speaking city near Lake Como and Milan.
Røkke, 64, is Norway’s fourth-richest person with an estimated fortune of about NOK 19.6 billion (£1.5 billion). In an open letter, he stated: “I’ve chosen Lugano as my new residence – it is neither the cheapest nor has the lowest taxes – but in return, it is a great place with a central location in Europe … For those close to the company and to me, I am just a click away.”
His relocation will cost Norway about NOK 175 million in lost tax revenue annually. Last year, Røkke was the country’s highest-taxed individual, and Dagens Næringsliv calculated that he has paid about NOK 1.5 billion in tax since 2008.
Røkke's move to Switzerland follows a modest tax increase targeting the super-rich, who face wealth taxes at both the local and state levels. This includes a municipal tax of 0.7% on assets exceeding NOK 1.7 million for individuals, or NOK 3.4 million for couples, and a state wealth tax rate of 0.3% on assets above NOK 1.7 million. In November, the government raised the state rate to 0.4% for assets above NOK 20 million for individuals and NOK 40 million for couples, bringing the maximum wealth tax rate to 1.1%.
Ole Gjems-Onstad, a professor emeritus at the Norwegian Business School, estimated that those who left the country had a combined fortune of at least NOK 600 billion.
“In my opinion, it is a bit like Brexit. Norway has no great tradition of self-harm, and the flood of entrepreneurs moving abroad has come as something of a shock,” Gjems-Onstad said. “Some politicians are blaming the wealthy people moving, but I think many ordinary people simply do not like that our best investors are leaving.”
Tord Ueland Kolstad, a real estate and salmon farming investor with a fortune of about NOK 1.5 billion, moved from Bodø in northern Norway to Lucerne in Switzerland. “This was not what I wanted, but the toughened and increased tax rules of the current government mean that I, as the founder and responsible owner, have no choice,” he told the Norwegian broadcaster TV 2.