However, what the government may have failed to properly consider was that just as they are looking to balance the national books, Norway’s residents also have their own wealth management concerns – and making voluntary tax contributions can disrupt the financial plans even of high-net-worth individuals, particularly if they are in the process of pension or education fee planning.
However, it is probably fair to say that the Finance Ministry would have hoped to raise a little more money than it has so far; a sum that would not even be enough to buy a reliable second-hand car.
Perhaps the explanation for the modest haul is that many of Norway’s residents already pay a tax rate of 46.7 percent, and they are unlikely to feel they want to put Norway’s national wealth management concerns ahead of their own.
“The tax scheme was set up to allow those who want to pay more taxes to do so in a simple and straightforward way,” Norway’s Finance Minister Siv Jensen told press. “If anyone feels their tax level is too low, they now have the opportunity to pay more.”
It is probably pertinent that even Jonas Gahr Store, the wealthy leader of the left-of-centre Labor party, who was a leading critic of what he branded Norway’s unfairly low tax rates, has so far not opted to make any voluntary contributions under the government scheme.
The net result? It is thought that the scheme has cost considerably more to initiate than it has so far raised in voluntary contribution revenue. An unmitigated wealth management failure?
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Much has happened since I last put pen to paper in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result and I thought it sensible to comment on some of the issues which are emerging from the ‘swirling fog’ that we experiencing. July 24th 2016, reminded me of September 12th 2001 in New York, with people walking around in shock, confused at the attack on the political and economic system. To be angry at the shock of the unexpected result and how that might affect everyone’s life is a natural and rational response, however much it might seem otherwise. Last week I wrote that the result was not a disaster and the financial system was capable of absorbing this shock, in short, my view has not changed.