– Naked Public Relations – E24

On Sunday night, the Conservative Party program committee announced that it unanimously supports a strong tax cut when it comes to beer, wine and sweets.

– We have been very restrictive on this in the Conservative Party, but I think the situation now is very different, says the chair of the committee and the minister of district and digitization Linda Helleland about the initiative that will try to create new jobs, and quickly.

The leader of the Center Party, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, is not very impressed.

– This is just public relations. The government has pursued an unpredictable fiscal policy and is known to have raised taxes on soft drinks and chocolate and sugar products by 40 to 80 percent, Vedum tells E24.

He believes the Conservatives have the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Finance Committee head, and thinks they should focus on cutting confectionery taxes now immediately rather than “talking about what may happen in 2024.” .

Siv Jensen wants Solberg’s answer

FRP leader Siv Jensen also shakes her head on the Conservatives’ new tax proposal and doubts that it is a new conservative policy.

– It is good if the Conservatives come together to do something about the taxes on the decoys on the other side of the border, but we don’t have time to wait for a long treatment internally in the Conservatives, we must do something about it now, in the next budget. says Jensen.

It also emphasizes that this is a committee proposal.

– Lately we have seen many proposals from the Conservative Party program committee, but what Sanner and Solberg think about it is much more interesting.

Where conservatives say they have opened their eyes to how serious exactly cross-border trade is for Norwegian merchandise trade, the FRP welcomes.

– We have received confirmation of what we have said in all the years. If we want to deal with Norwegian jobs already in autumn, something must happen now. It has no debate, we must make decisions.

He adds that thousands of temporary jobs have been created in recent months, which could have become permanent if something had been done about the level of taxes on alcohol and sugar.

Vedum will not touch the alcohol tax

While Vedum and Jensen are equally impressed by the conservatives’ fiscal policy, tax-hostile party leaders disagree that cheaper beer and wine are a good thing.

– We are careful with the alcohol tax, because it has many consequences. The costs for individual families are incredibly high, says Vedum, who believes there will always be some cross-border trade.

He also believes that Helleland and the Conservatives start with the wrong tax.

– I think conservatives should start by doing something about taxes that affect tourism at this time. As of October 31, the tax relief for the tourism industry will cease, including the VAT relief, which will go from six to 12 percent.

Helleland notes that many of those who work in the tourism industry can find jobs in retail, if taxes on alcohol and confectionery are lowered, and that many temporary jobs that have come in in recent months may become permanent.

New figures for cross-border trade

Last week, recent cross-border trade figures from Statistics Norway showed that trade, due to the coronavirus, declined by 99 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year.

A Menon report on behalf of Virke estimates that normal business in Sweden could employ 8,200 people in the Norwegian food and beverage industry.

The FRP has long wanted drastic cuts in excise tax, but it has not been relevant for the ruling KrF party to accept such cuts, most recently telling Vårt Land this summer “that the current alcohol policy is fixed.”