Billionaires on the move to the small township of Nordland – E24

Among those who have reported moving is Einar Sissener.

– It is in the north where it happens. They have the resources, they have the fish, a fantastic nature with the sea and mountains. Northern lights and midnight sun, and lots of nice people, she tells E24.

Sissener has lived in Sandefjord in Vestfold and settled on commercial property there for 40 years. Now he’s announcing a move to Nordland, for one simple reason:

The wealth tax in the municipality of Bø will be reduced from January 1, 2021.

– If we succeed and someone in hindsight says that we are Norway’s answer to Monaco, then I live well with that, said Mayor Sture Pedersen (H) then E24 discussed the radical tax move before Christmas last year.

Take companies to charge on the go

Sissener emphasizes that he travels a lot between Bø and Sandefjord after the move, as business in the whaling town continues as before.

– But I already started a project and now I am moving a couple of companies there. What you still do not know, reveals the financier.

Sissener’s tax assessment for 2018 shows that he had a fortune of NOK 402 million. That year he paid taxes of almost 4.4 million crowns.

It was Finansavisen who first mentioned Sissen’s movement.

Mayor Sture Pedersen has previously mentioned the tax cut as part of the strategy to increase activity and revenue in Nordland Municipality.

– We have received the profit I expected: someone to move to Bø. We do this to create new jobs, he now tells E24.

His party has a clear majority on the municipal council. Because there are practically no other public workplaces in Bø than municipal ones, Pedersen believes they must attract new business players as a result.

– If we manage to create 100 new jobs or get 100 new ones to move to our municipality, we are in the plus. In any case, the more private income we can get, the better services I can provide to the public, he says.

Tar and Thon

Nordlending and billionaire Benn Eidissen is one of those who has landed in the place of Bø where he wants to live. It was converted into a plot and a house by the sea for a total of eight million crowns, writes Vol. No.

To E24, he says the following about the election.

– In the same way that Olav Thon lived in Oslo, he still taxed his home municipality and saved the finances of that municipality. In the same way I want to do it with Bø.

Eidissen has earned a few hundred million crowns from private kindergartens and nursing homes. With the upcoming tax cut, there may be good savings for him, and more revenue for the city coffers in Bø next year.

– I’m sure this is worth it for the municipality. There shouldn’t be many who come to end in the red, says Eidissen.

In fiscal year 2018, he had a recorded fortune of NOK 330 million, according to tax schedules. Eidissen also continues to live in Bodø, but will move between the municipalities of Nordland.

Sea views and local investment

A good friend of both the mayor and Eidissen is billionaire Kristian Adolfsen.

He has developed important businesses abroad together with his brother Roger. The companies belonging to the Adolfsen Group employ around 23,000 employees in kindergartens, nursing homes and Norlandia companies, to name a few.

The Andenes financier lives in Oslo, but is now looking north.

– We invest a lot in the mainland, but we will also invest in Bø, Adolfsen tells E24.

– Do you want to move to live and live there too?

– Yes, that’s the plan. I am from Vesterålen and I know many in the region. But of course I will travel a lot to Oslo, where we have our system headquarters. I’m looking for a place with an ocean view, like Benn has done. I love the sea and I look at finished plots and houses.

Parents and many other families already live in Vesterålen. In the future, some of Adolfsen’s friends will likely do the same.

– It means something that Bø has done. Now more people are looking for houses and land. It will probably be nice with a lot of celebrities there, she says.

Tired of Norwegian fiscal policy

All the financiers willing to move the E24 are talking about taking a hit to do something fundamental with the wealth tax in Norway.

– The wealth tax on working capital is completely idiotic and highly distorts competition in favor of foreign owners, believes Adolfsen.

Tax figures show that his tax assets exceeded NOK 278 million in 2018. Much of the money comes from and goes to companies, according to him.

– We try to build and create new jobs, we have done it for 30 years. Working capital and private capital must be separated. Adolfsen believes that company capital that is not used privately should not be triple taxed.

According to the mayor, there are several wealthy Norwegians who sniff when they move to Bø. Pedersen believes that the tax cut will pay off even before the relief becomes a reality.

– All those I have had contact with say the same thing: what they save in wealth tax, they should at least invest in new jobs here, and certainly more, says the mayor.

On Tuesday, Pedersen will dine with someone who is “relatively strong in the capital.”