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Local Norway
4 days ago
- Business
- Local Norway
KEY POINTS: How Norwegian parties' election pledges could affect foreigners
CONSERVATIVE PARTY Economy and Taxation If it wins, The Conservative Party is pledging a broad tax-cutting agenda: Income tax reductions for all Abolish wealth tax on "working capital", and a higher threshold for wealth tax over all. Repeal of stricter 2024 exit tax rules. Under the proposed changes, foreigners will only be taxed on Norwegian-earned capital gains once realised - not upon leaving the country. Work permits and Labour Migration The Conservative Party is positive towards skilled labour migration and is promising: A fast-track permit scheme for highly skilled workers, modelled on Denmark' recognition of foreign qualifications and the potential for a joint Nordic recognition scheme. Allowing skilled workers to get permits even without formal qualifications. Citizenship, residency and family reunification The party takes a tougher line on foreigners who want to stay in Norway, pledging: An increase the minimum level of spoken Norwegian required for citizenship from B1 to B2. Applicants will be ineligible for citizenship if they have debts to the public sector, have missed tax payments, or have been required to repay public benefits. Dual citizens could lose Norwegian citizenship if found guilty of serious crimes. Permanent residence will require four years of financial self-sufficiency, no public debt, and verified ID. Tighter rules for family reunion, with a requirement that relatives who come to Norway need learn Norwegian and that their relatives in Norway show they are able to support them Advertisement Labour Party Economy and taxation While the other two big parties want to cut tax, the Labour Party is pledging to keep tax levels the same while expanding the state involvement in the economy. It is pledging: Keep the combined taxes and fees paid by people and companies in Norway at the same level as today. Tighten regulations on the marketing consumer loans and credit cards, unreasonably high interest rates on consumer loans and 262 limiting earnings from debt collection Work permits and Labour Migration The Labour Party wants to help foreigners in Norway find work by: Faster skills assessment for newly arrived immigrants, including those without documentation, to be carried out by the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) Expanded language training, including better access for migrant workers and their families. Improved NAV procedures to help immigrants find work faster. Make Norway "a more attractive country for international researchers and students". Citizenship, residency and family reunion Labour has only modest plans for this area, pledging: A review of citizenship regulations, including the rules for and practice of revoking citizenship. Shorter waitinng times for family reunification application Work to reduce the processing time and waiting time for applications for family reunification Stronger self-sufficiency requirements for sponsoring family members. Introduction of an "integration contract" obligating both parties to complete language and cultural training, with penalties for non-compliance. Advertisement PROGRESS PARTY Economy and taxation The Progress Party is fighting this election on a promise of aggressive tax cuts: Reduced tax rates for all income groups. Abolish Norway's wealth tax (currently 1.1 percent on any assets above a threshold of 1.7 million kroner) Cut VAT on food from 15 percent to 7.5 percent Abolish property tax ( eiendomsskatt ). This is currently levied by municipalities and can be up to 0.4 percent of the taxable value of the property. Cap electricity prices at 50 øre per kWh . Slash road taxes, fuel taxes, and abolish road tolls. Citizenship and Permanent Residency While the Progress Party is not campaigning on an anti-immigration platform, its policies remain the most radical on citizenship, permanent residency and immigration. The Progress Party is proposing the most far-reaching changes to citizenship and residency requirements, pledging to: Extend the required residency period to gain citizenship to 10 years (currently 7). It will be five years for spouses of Norwegians. Raise the bar for permanent residence to 8 years (currently 5). Impose tougher language and self-sufficiency tests. Require new citizens to swear allegiance at a mandatory ceremony. Strip dual citizens of citizenship if convicted of terrorism, gang crime or other serious offences. Immigration and integration Asylum centers to be established in Africa and Asia, with asylum seekers sent out while their cases are processed. A package "of significantly greater value", to incentivise immigrants to return to their countries of origin Conditional unemployment benefits tied to completion of language, civics, and job-training courses Language test for four-year-olds to target early intervention in immigrant-heavy areas. Moratorium on refugee resettlement in areas where non-Western immigrants exceed 15 percent of the population. Refugees only allowed to settle in municipalities with proven quality services and job markets. Mandatory deportation of any foreigner sentenced to more than 3 months' prison. Ban on religious garments in public authority roles, hijabs in primary schools, and face coverings in public spaces and schools. End free legal aid for immigration cases.
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
VIDEO: Will an anti-Trump wave change Canada's election result?
NORMAN HERMANT, REPORTER: As political comebacks go, they don't come much bigger than what Canada's governing centre left Liberals have pulled off in this election. For much of the last two years the opposition Conservatives were way ahead in the polls - seemingly poised for victory. Then everything changed. DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT: Canada would be great as our cherished 51st state. You wouldn't have to worry about borders, you wouldn't have to worry about anything. MARK CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: Donald Trump wants to break us so America can own us. They want our land, they want this land, they want our resources, they want our water, they want our country. Never. JENNIFER DITCHBURN, CEO, INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON PUBLIC POLICY: I don't recall another election that's been this surprising, and where all our expectations around how it would unfold were totally up ended. NORMAN HERMANT: Jennifer Ditchburn runs a leading public policy think tank. She says Canadians are angry about Donald Trump's repeated suggestions the country should become America's 51st state. DONALD TRUMP: I have to be honest. As a state, it works great because if they didn't have us, they would cease to exist, which is true, certainly as a country. NORMAN HERMANT: Comments like that from Trump have sparked protests and Canadian celebrities like Mike Myers have adopted the Elbows Up slogan - an ice hockey term that refers to dishing out punishment to opponents. JENNIFER DITCHBURN: All of a sudden, Canadians were faced with a country that was supposed to be our closest friend and our neighbour, a country that we've gone to war with. All of a sudden, the president of that country is posing an existential threat to us as a country. NORMAN HERMANT: Mark Carney has been Prime Minister for less than seven weeks after succeeding Justin Trudeau whose popularity plunged in recent years. And Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly to told voters there's no difference between the two. PIERRE POILIEVRE, CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: Under the Liberals, led by Trudeau or Carney, what we have is out of touch weak leadership. NORMAN HERMANT: But the polls show the governing Liberals have staged a remarkable recovery. For all of last year they fell further and further behind the Conservative opposition. When Justin Trudeau resigned his party trailed by 25 points. Then Donald Trump started talking tariffs and suggesting Canada should join the US. Since Mark Carney became the new Prime Minister last month the Liberals have taken the lead. DAVID COLETTO, ABACUS DATA: Our heads are spinning here in Canada a little bit at how quick things have changed. NORMAN HERMANT: Pollster David Coletto says Canada has never seen the political landscape shift so quickly. DAVID COLETTO: It's pretty unique around the world to see an incumbent party that had been in office for 10 years, deeply unpopular, quickly replace their leader, and within weeks, be in a place where they're now the favourites to win the election. (Excerpt from 7.30 - 10th April, 2023) MARK CARNEY: The current system doesn't work. It's not fit for purpose. (End of excerpt) NORMAN HERMANT: Mark Carney has no elected political experience. He was formerly governor of the Bank of Canada and then the Bank of England during Brexit. But the economist was far from a household name in his home country. DAVID COLETTO: When he announced he was running for leader of the Liberal Party, we showed a picture to respondents in a survey and asked them who this is, and only 9 per cent of Canadians could pick out Mark Carney from that picture CONSERVATIVE ELECTION ADVERTISEMENT: This is not change. Mark Carney is reading from the same Liberal playbook. NORMAN HERMANT: The Conservative campaign has tied Carney to the Liberals record in government. And Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has hammered away on issues that dragged down the current government. PIERRE POILIEVRE: Who's voting for homes you can actually afford? KORY TENEYCKE, RUBICON STRATEGY: They were on track to winning the largest majority government in Canadian history, and it all kind of crumbled in the matter of, you know, three, four months REPORTER: The idea that you say this is campaign malpractice at the highest level, why are you saying that? KORY TENEYCKE: Because we blew a 25-point lead. NORMAN HERMANT: Leading Conservative strategist Kory Teneycke says the party pivoted too late to the campaign's main issue – Donald Trump. KORY TENEYCKE: I don't think Poilievre, who is the leader of the Conservative Party, even uttered the name of Donald Trump until eight days into the campaign, when it was by far the number one issue for the electorate. LIBERAL ELECTION ADVERTISEMENT: Everything is broken. Everything is broken. Fake news. Fake news. NORMAN HERMANT: And Teneycke believes the Conservative campaign has another problem when it comes to Donald Trump. KORY TENEYCKE: There is a lot of slogans, there is a lot of name-calling. All of that I think, made voters who were very focused on Trump very uncomfortable with Poilievre and he appeared a bit like the Canadian franchise owner of the MAGA movement and folks are really not in the mood for that. NORMAN HERMANT: Canadians are not in the mood for the US much at all lately. In response to devastating tariffs, American liquor has been pulled from most shelves and many shoppers are buying Canadian - boycotting US imports. JENNIFER DITCHBURN: If you talk to any Canadian and you walk down the street and you say, how are you feeling right now? They probably tell you some mixture of betrayed, disappointed but very, very angry at the Trump administration, to the point that people go to great lengths not to purchase anything at the grocery store that is grown in the United States. NORMAN HERMANT: In the final days of the campaign the polls appeared to tighten but just months ago few thought Mark Carney and the Liberals would even be competitive in this election - let alone win.
