Norway's government faces accusations of breaking a key tax pledge, with a new property valuation model set to generate nearly one billion kroner in extra revenue. The Conservative Party (Høyre) has called Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg to parliament for questioning, arguing the move violates a core campaign promise.
A 'Non-Negotiable' Promise Under Fire
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and his Labour Party (Ap) campaigned on a promise that the overall tax burden for people would not increase. Støre himself described this pledge as 'completely non-negotiable.' The recently passed state budget for 2026 shows taxes and duties in balance on paper. However, a revised model for calculating property values has created a significant fiscal discrepancy. Initial government estimates predicted the new model would bring 423 million kroner into state coffers. Fresh calculations from Statistics Norway now project the sum to be closer to one billion kroner extra.
'It didn't take half a year before the Støre government broke its promise to keep overall taxes and duties for people at the same level,' said the Conservative Party's finance policy spokesperson, Nikolai Astrup. He accused the government of typical behaviour. 'Ap does as they usually do: They break their tax promise, and then they come with excuses.'
How The Property Model Shifted
The controversy stems from a technical change in how homes are valued for wealth tax purposes. The new model calculates a property's market value based on a more limited geographical area than before. It uses so-called 'basic statistical units' instead of the entire municipality as the basis. The stated goal was to better capture local housing prices, which the government argued would generally reduce assessed values for many homeowners. While the model may lower values for some, the aggregate effect has generated a much larger-than-expected revenue increase for the state due to how it recalibrates values across the market.
This has led to stark individual impacts. Reports have highlighted cases like that of a 75-year-old pensioner in Oslo whose apartment value was reassessed upwards by over 50 percent. For him, the increased wealth tax calculation could mean an additional tax burden of around 50,000 kroner on his pension income. The old model was criticized for producing inaccurate values, particularly for both very affordable and very high-priced homes, but the new system's revenue surge has created a political problem.
Government Retreat and Parliamentary Hurdles
Facing the backlash, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg has already signaled a retreat. He has stated an intention to adjust the design of the model so the state does not profit from the overhaul, aiming for a revenue-neutral outcome. 'Estimate changes during the course of the year do not affect the tax promise,' argued State Secretary Ellen Reitan of the Labour Party. 'It does not prevent us from compensating for unintended effects of the updated property model.'
However, the path to a fix is not straightforward. The government relies on support from its budget allies in the Storting to make any changes. Two key supporters, the Socialist Left Party (SV) and the Red Party (Rødt), have indicated they are not automatically willing to back adjustments that would amount to a tax cut for owners of expensive properties. MĂmir Kristjánsson of Rødt stated he would much rather see tax cuts for pensioners with low incomes. This stance sets up a complex negotiation, as the government must find a way to offset the unexpected billion-kroner revenue without alienating its left-wing support base.
The Core of the Political Clash
The dispute cuts to the heart of Norwegian economic policy debate. The Conservative Party's move to summon Stoltenberg is a direct challenge to the government's credibility on fiscal management. They frame the billion-kroner oversight as a fundamental breach of trust on a signature promise. The government and Labour Party counter that technical estimate revisions are normal and that their commitment is to the final, adjusted outcome in the budget, not to every preliminary forecast. They maintain the 'non-negotiable' promise will be kept once compensatory measures are enacted.
Yet, the situation exposes the fragility of budget forecasts and the political difficulty of reforming technical tax systems. A model designed to create fairer valuations has, in its first iteration, produced a windfall that contradicts a central political pledge. The government now must navigate between its own promise, the practical realities of the new system, and the demands of its parliamentary partners. The outcome will test Stoltenberg's political skill and set a precedent for how similar technical revisions are handled in the future.
A Test for the Coalition Framework
This incident serves as a stress test for the Storting's current balance of power. The Labour-led government operates without a majority, depending on negotiations with SV and Rødt for each budget. Their differing priorities—between maintaining a strict revenue-neutral tax promise and pursuing redistributive policies that target tax relief to specific groups—are now in clear conflict. The property tax model has become the battleground. How this is resolved will reveal much about whose economic policy preferences will dominate this parliamentary term. Can Stoltenberg find a formula that satisfies his left-wing allies while still technically honouring the tax pledge? The answer will determine whether this remains a temporary controversy or evolves into a lasting political wound.