They create large companies in the “Monaco of Norway”, even with the ordinary wealth tax – E24

Four different industries: agriculture, excavation, data, and dried fish. Two locally owned companies and two from the south.

Everybody has a big business in Bø in Vesterålen, the municipality that from next year will receive a low wealth tax.

In the town of Steine, it shines from large windows along the main road. Two Advent stars mark the time of waiting and the time of darkness. Inside the former bank building are employees of the information technology company Framsikt AS.

Forecasting is the sweetest dream of all mayors. It attracts young people with high competence and fiscal capacity to Bø.

The company has offices in Sandvika, Bø and India. There are more than 50 employees in total and the majority in Bø. They offer IT solutions that 160 Norwegian municipalities use in planning, budgeting and contacting residents.

From Bærum to Bø

Elestin Brox from Bærum got a job at Framsikt in Bø after the Norwegian School of Management. Now he has lived here for two years. He says only one of the employees is from Bø. The rest have moved here.

– We have grown a lot. It’s too early to tell how long people will stay in Bø, he says.

Regine Arnkvern from Hamar has a master’s degree in English law. She has replaced Lake Mjøsa with an even larger sea. He has worked at Bø for just over a year.

– I moved here for work and was prepared for everything. I like nature and right now it is very safe to be here, he says.

Markus Radszuweit is from Berlin and has a PhD in physics. Kayaking is the great hobby.

Wealth tax with pleasure

Halvor Walla was involved in the creation of Framsikt in 2014 and is the largest owner. Lives in Oslo and taxes there.

– I opened the office in Bø so that I could spend more time there. IT companies can be located anywhere, he says.

He supports the use of taxes and fees to develop businesses throughout Norway.

– For me personally, the wealth tax has not been a problem while we built Framsikt. I have not been in a position to pay the estate tax, but I have already succeeded. And I have to pay for it with joy, he says.

Save taxes on wages

Lower contributions from employers in the north make it attractive to settle in Bø. Walla estimates that they save around 1.5 million crowns in fees each year by being in Bø rather than in eastern Norway.

– Personally, I think the wealth tax is a necessary tax for the total in the tax system to go up fairly, he says.

Still, Walla supports Bø’s tax measures to attract capital and jobs.

– It is correct when the mayor says that the state has left Bø. It is possible to be both for the differential wealth tax and for the wealth tax as such, he says.

Move the stockfish in

Closer to the sea, in the city of Steine, the site manager, Eirik Olsen, is managing an investment of around NOK 30 million.

– For us mortals, the wealth tax is not so important. We joked a bit about it, but it’s good that Bø knows him, he says.

In a large hall, Safe Track Food AS is building an indoor facility for dried fish. In four large chambers, there will be room for 25 tons of fish in each. Temperature, humidity, weight, and most things need to be controlled down to the smallest detail with advanced IT systems.

Indoors, the shrinkage should be much less and it should go faster. On the premises, Safe Track must be able to hang fresh and thawed fish. Frozen fish should enter blocks and thaw in about 16 hours in large containers. That means trouble-free operation.

Olsen estimates there will be between 12 and 15 jobs at the plant when it goes online. It occurs when the market is more normal after the crown.

Don’t think about the estate tax

The Nord-Norge AS investment fund, wholly owned by Innovation Norway, is the largest owner of the stockfish facility. The couple Julia and Nordahl Anthonisen from Bergen are the second largest at 14.4 percent.

Julia (69) is the CEO of Safe Track. Man Nordahl (75) has developed the technology together with researchers from Nofima in Ås. He has given little thought to the estate tax.

– We are not rich enough to have had something to say. We have located in Bø due to the supply of raw materials and the experience there, he says.

Visit with consequences

Walla in Framsikt has roots in the north. He came to Bø for the first time 20 years ago to visit a friend’s house. Nature and people captured it. He bought a disused farm in 2009. He later built a house there.

Now he works at Bø every three weeks. There will be more. The Bø office has 23 employees and 19 of them live in the municipality. Three new hires are on the way in the next six months. There will be more.

– We have won two big tenders this fall, which along with other sales provide a good base to grow by 40 percent next year as well, says Walla.

Two who were there first

Two great local companies have been in Bø for almost 50 years. The owners ran a wealth tax business long before Bø became the “Monaco of Norway”:

• Eva Maria Kristoffersen is the owner of the fish farming company Egil Kristoffersen & Sønner AS together with her sister. Tax assets 2018: NOK 597 million
• Ottar Bergersen owns almost the entire machine contractor Ottar Bergersen & Sønner AS. 2018 tax assets: NOK 42 million.

The greatest fortune

In 2018, Eva Marie Kristoffersen had the highest taxable wealth in Nordland and paid the second-highest amount in taxes.

– We have taken dividends to pay the wealth tax. Otherwise, we try to keep the money in the company. I pay five times more in estate taxes than I get from wages, he says.

Next year, you can expect to receive around NOK 2.5 million less in wealth taxes. At the end of 2011, the company was in its early 30s. He is now 65.

14-89 employees

Bergersen & Sønner is one of the largest machinery contractors in Vesterålen.

– The wealth tax makes running a business a risky sport. We pay taxes twice. First in profits and then in fortune, says Bergersen.

The growth has been strong. From 2010 to last year, the number of employees increased from 14 to 89. The 2019 annual report describes it as a challenge “to provide sufficiently qualified workforce”.