The FRP questions that reveal Erna Solberg is having a very difficult fall

The great battle for the state budget next year will begin soon. FRP prepares a series of proposals that are completely inedible for the Liberal Party and KrF, and in part for the Conservative Party.

For the first time since 2013, the FRP is an opposition party. For the state budget to be approved in the Storting, the three ruling Conservative parties KrF and Venstre must agree with Frp.

FRP will present its alternative budget shortly. Then the party and the ruling parties start negotiations.

In recent weeks, FRP has submitted more than 200 budget questions to the Ministry of Finance. They give an indication of the changes FRP wants to the budget. Many of them also reveal that the FRP in various areas will be on a collision course with the other government parties.

Here are some of them.

1. What does the state lose in revenue by introducing alcohol taxes at the Swedish, Danish or Finnish level?

FRP asks a series of questions about what the state will lose in revenue if alcohol taxes are lowered to the level of different neighboring countries and different times. The Ministry of Finance believes that the state may lose approx. NOK 5.7 billion a year if rates are lowered to the Swedish level. Such a proposal is contrary to the wording of the government platform that the main lines of alcohol policy should be established.

2. What does the state lose by reducing taxes on tobacco and snus?

FRP also wants to know what the state will lose if tobacco taxes are cut by a quarter. The answer is NOK 1.5 billion a year. FRP also asks several questions about snus tax exemptions. Consideration for public health and state revenue both indicate that the government here will be hard pressed to swallow big tax cuts.

3. What if you accept «0 quota refugees and only approx. 300 asylum seekers »?

The government will receive 3,000 quota refugees next year. The government also says it will host 50 refugees from Moira camp in Greece. Many municipalities want to receive more from Greece. The municipalities receive a subsidy from the state to settle these groups. FRP asks the government to calculate how much it costs municipalities if they have to bear a larger share of the bill themselves. And then the government is asked to take as a starting point that Norway should only ‘accept 0 quota refugees and approx. 300 asylum seekers’.

This question refers to both money and attitudes. Here, the FRP and the government are on a collision course. The subject may be the most difficult this fall.

4. How much does it cost the state to reduce fuel taxes?

FRP asks many questions about what the state loses in revenue by reducing the gasoline and diesel tolls. The party, p. Eg Know the consequences of reducing NOK 1. pr. liters – or if it is completely removed on gasoline boats or snowmobiles.

Disagreement over fuel taxes and climate considerations almost led to a crisis in 2016. Here it is, for example, The Left and the Green Party are far apart.

5. What does the state lose in revenue by eliminating the air passenger tax?

Following an initiative by the Liberal Party, the government introduced a tax on air passengers in 2016. Now Frp is asking how much it will cost to remove the entire tax. An uncertain estimate indicates that it will cost NOK 1.6 billion. FRP is also considering reducing a climate tax (CO2 tax) on fuel used in domestic air traffic. Here, not least, the Liberal Party and the Green Party will sharply clash with each other.

6. What can be saved by a percentage cut in the development assistance budget?

The Government’s goal is for the development assistance budget to equal 1% of estimated gross national income (GNI). The corona pandemic has caused a decline in GNP. Therefore, the government cuts the development assistance budget by NOK 1.1 billion in 2021. FRP wonders how much the state can save, for example. it only reserves 0.7% of GNI for development assistance. The answer is NOK 11.4 billion. But for the Liberal Party and especially for KrF, it is irrelevant to establish the percentage so low and contrary to the government platform.

7. How much does it cost to make up for careless maintenance of county roads?

FRP asks a series of questions about maintenance and construction of new road projects. Everyone points out that Frp will increase the budget here. The main problem from the government’s point of view is that many of the projects cost billions of crowns. When negotiating the budget, the so-called “coverage” is a keyword: How to cover the bill? Agreeing on coverage is going to be crazy this fall. The government, for example, does not cut billions of crowns in aid to get more.

8. What can you save on court benefits for, for example, immigrants?

FRP asks several questions about the tightening of various social benefits. Some of them are used alone, or frequently, by immigrants. Frp, p. Eg knowing what the state can save if the one-time benefit at birth disappears for everyone who receives other benefits from Nav. The benefit is for women who did not work long enough to receive parental benefits.

FRP also wonders what the state will gain from liquidating fringe benefits. The benefit is a kind of “minimum pension” for immigrants. The answer is that the state can earn approx. 350 million, but that municipalities can lose because they have to pay more in social assistance. The proposals that FRP suggests here are problematic for the government.

9. Where do the different money orders cost to give more to retirees?

FRP has asked a number of questions about increasing pensions to most people. The party has p. Eg you asked the ministry to calculate how much it will cost to regulate the old-age pension with the average price and salary growth of different dates next year. Doing so would be contrary to pension reform.

FRP also wants to know how much it costs to eliminate or reduce the reduction of pensions for couples. The price ranges from just over 500 million to 5.5 billion crowns.

10. How much does it cost the state to introduce a tax deduction for all expenses that individuals have for tolls?

A toll deduction is the “baby” of FRP. But the party left the government without having presented any proposal on how to solve it. Now the FRP is asking for help to introduce it. If all toll charges are to be deducted, it costs the state approx. 2.7 billion. But nobody knows how much individuals pay. People who have their expenses covered at work pay large sums. Therefore, such a deduction needs to be investigated further, is the answer. FRP has also asked other questions about tolls. The problem here is the coverage mentioned.

11. How much will it cost municipalities if property taxes are reduced further?

FRP has received a reduced maximum rate on property tax. Now the FRP asks how much it will cost to reduce the rate even more, from 4 per thousand to 3 and 2 per thousand. According to the government, this may reduce municipal revenues by NOK 0.8 and 2.3 billion, respectively. Here, too, coverage is first of all the great challenge.

12. How much do the different climate measures cost?

FRP has asked a series of questions that give an indication of a different course than the one proposed by the government on climate policy, for example:

• How many state budget projects with climate cuts as the main reason are more expensive than the price of buying quotas …?
• What is the total cost of all the budget proposals that will lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions?

FRP has received concrete answers to these questions to varying degrees.