The Ministry of Finance is responsible for planning and implementing the Norwegian economic policy and for coordinating the work with the Fiscal Budget.
The Norwegian economy is experiencing its strongest expansion in thirty years, with annual growth in Mainland-GDP averaging more than 4½ per cent over the past four years. Employment has increased substantially and the unemployment rate has fallen to a historically low level.
The Norwegian government today announced a NOK 500 million appropriation for the purpose of purchasing Emission Reductions eligible for Kyoto Protocol compliance. The appropriation is administered by the Ministry of Finance, which is also authorised to contract a further NOK 3 600 million for payments against deliveries in 2009 and subsequent years.
The Government proposes amendments to the special tax regime for shipping companies in order to equalize the competitiveness of the regime compared to other European tax regimes for shipping. The aim is to ensure that Norway can maintain its position as one of the leading countries for international shipping.
Responsible fiscal policy, high petroleum revenues and good financial returns helped the Government Pension Fund grow to NOK 2 057 billion (about USD 375 billion) as of 30 June 2007.
On behalf of the Kingdom of Norway, the Ministry of Finance is announcing its first tender for credits from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects to obtain emission reductions eligible under the Kyoto Protocol.
State Secretary Geir Axelsen introduced the web site CarbonNeutralNorway.no Wednesday 12 September at the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. The web site will be the Government's tool in acquiring and selling carbon credits. For 2007 NOK 100 million is allocated to acquiring carbon credits, and authorization is given for additional NOK 100 million.
Today, the Norwegian Government has announced that it will propose a new tax regime for Norwegian shipping companies in the National Budget for 2008. The proposed tax regime will be similar to the tax regimes available for the industry in the European Union.
This is an annual report by the Ministry of Finance containing general information about the Kingdom of Norway and the Norwegian economy 2007.
Address Ministry of FinanceP.O. Box 8008 Dep NO-0030 OsloNorway Visiting Address:Akersgata 40Oslo
