Vedum back from camping holiday: – Now comes the joy!

– The joy will come in the autumn, says Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) on the phone to NTB.

He is enjoying his last days of holiday and was on his way to his father’s home in Valdres on Wednesday. Next week, the G20 meeting in Brazil is due.

– Although it has been a rainy summer for many, there are many bright spots in the economy now, he says.

Jubler over SSB-tall

The Minister of Finance points out that nursery prices will be cut in the autumn – and that Norwegian municipalities will get more money. Both parts financed with the government’s controversial salmon tax.

In addition, there was news last week that raised the mood in the camper van.

– One of the nicest things regarding the camping trip was that we got the latest figures from Statistics Norway regarding a price increase of 2.6 per cent, which is lower than what was assumed in the salary settlement. This will lead to an even greater improvement in people’s advice, he says.

Reasonable alternative

Vedum is not alone in holidaying in the nearby areas.

In addition to expensive time, an increasingly weak krone has made holidays abroad even more expensive.

In recent days, the krone has weakened further once morest the dollar and euro, which might potentially delay the announced interest rate cuts.

– In Sweden, the krone exchange rate is quite similar to that in Norway, but it is higher in Denmark. But when you eat a lot of the food in the car, you won’t notice much of a difference anyway. That is the advantage of a camper van, says the finance minister.

The Vedum family’s journey went from Eastern Norway to Gothenburg and Liseberg, then to a place south of Malmö and then to Copenhagen. They were driving a rented camper van.

– Compared to many other things, this is a reasonable form of holiday.

No hoarding at the border

– Did you experience any cross-border trade?

– No, we bought food in the shop along the way, but there was no hoarding. I bought some candy then, which I took home, he says.

Earlier this summer, Vedum put its foot down once morest reintroducing the sugar tax, which the health authorities have clearly recommended.

He justified it, among other things, with a desire to limit cross-border trade.

In the first quarter alone, Norwegians did border shopping for approximately NOK 2.4 billion on day trips abroad, almost half a billion more than at the same time last year.

– I don’t want to moralize that people take a trip across the border to shop. It is natural that people buy a little when they are out, he says.

Will tax IT giants

Next week, Brazil and the G20 meeting are the Finance Minister’s turn. In 2024, Norway has been invited as a guest country in the alliance of the world’s most important economies.

Among other things, they will discuss tax policy.

– The member countries are concerned with how huge companies such as Facebook and Google will contribute back to the countries in which they earn their money, he says.

He says that several of the G20 finance ministers have been very interested in the Norwegian tax system.

– I was a little surprised by how much attention Norway got at the last meeting. They want to hear regarding the Norwegian welfare model, and they see that it is not sustainable if a few become super rich and the broad strata do not get to share in the prosperity.

Redistribution

Vedum says that colleagues sometimes wonder how wealth tax works, and how Norway taxes hydropower.

And with that we are back to redistribution and the finances of Norwegian families:

– This is exactly what we are seeing concrete results from this autumn. The salmon tax then contributes to lower nursery prices, which all Norwegian families with children will enjoy. We have had a tough round, but this is regarding the fact that if someone has an extra large profit, it is important to distribute it.

Finally, the finance minister shares a tip with people going to Liseberg:

– It’s probably a good idea to go there on a rainy day. We were there one day when the weather was nice, and there were an incredible amount of people.