No to offshore tax – yet!

The Norwegian government has ruled out a special tax on offshore salmon farming – for now.

It says that because the sector is still in the development stage it will not consider such a proposal until it becomes profitable.

The announcement has disappointed the industry which now believes an offshore tax will be inevitable if the present coalition government remains in power.

Last month Gustav Witzøe, founder of Salmar, the company spearheading offshore development, warned there would be no progress until the tax issue has been clarified.

The latest Oslo announcement was delivered in a Trade and Industry statement in tandem with last week’s national budget.

The ministry said with the current uncertain outlook for prices and costs for offshore aquaculture it would not be possible to come up with a suitable tax formula at this point.

The statement added: “The sea is not a limited national site in the same way as the Norwegian fjords.

“Aquaculture at sea can be a more mobile business, depending on how the sea cages are designed.”

And there was always the risk that the business could move out of Norway once technological development work has been completed which, under certain conditions, could lead to a significant loss in revenue for the state.

The ministry did concede that offshore aquaculture with its sea environment and free flowing ocean currents has the potential to provide more favourable and more natural production conditions for salmon.- the same conditions in which wild salmon live.

It also said the sector was currently not profitable and it was still uncertain that it will become profitable.

The statement added: “The necessary infrastructure will be clearly more demanding, and commercial production requires the establishment of a completely new value chain, in addition to new technology. At the same time, access to sea space is not restricted in the same way as the distinctive Norwegian fjords.”