The Frightening Truth

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They don’t have Halloween in Norway.

But they have an October custom which could be scary for a lot of people.

Each October, the federal government in Norway releases the tax list. The list not only includes every citizens taxable income, earned in Norway, but a statement of their total wealth.

Whether this is transparency gone wild or an invasion of privacy, depends on your point of view.

Public officials, school teachers, executives in publicly traded companies and to some degree celebrities in the United States understand their salaries are a matter of public record or significant speculation.

But in Norway, from actress Liv Ullmann, who according to the Associated Press is worth $2.5 million, to fishermen, reindeer herders and everyone in between, their taxable income and wealth is published each year.

Income earned in other countries or in a tax shelter is not reported, but the total wealth of individuals is.

Norway is a small country of 4.8 million people and also one of the richest, with annual incomes among the top two or three countries in the world.

But their wealthiest individuals have far less than the richest Americans.

According to the current list, Norway’s richest person is Johan Andresen, worth about $2 billion, who owns an investment group.

This does not compare with the wealth of Bill Gates, worth about $50 billion, and or Warren Buffet, $37 billion.

We already know about the really rich, but what is the next door neighbor, someone you work with or the boss really worth?

Jan Omdahl, a journalist in Norway, told the AP, “people treat the list like tax porno, furtively checking the income of their neighbors and co-workers.”

Jon Stordrange, director of the Norwegian Taxpayer’s Association, said the list provides criminals with a way to find good targets, and results in children being taunted with “my dad is richer than your dad.”

Georg Apnes, a member of Norway’s Conservative Party, calls going through the tax list disgusting.
“It reflects very poorly on our culture and our society,” he said.

Even in Norway the list is not popular. According to a survey by research group Synovate, only 32 percent of Norwegians favor the list and 46 percent were against it.

In the United States, privacy is so important to most people, a tax list would be unthinkable. The idea of such a list would probably cause millions more people to not file a tax return, the chance of prison being preferable to having the information published.

When the next person calls for more transparency in government or business, remember what that could mean, when taken to the ultimate conclusion.

Michael Farrell is a staff writer for the Morris Daily Herald. He can be reached by calling 815-942-3221, ext. 2028, or e-mail him at mfarrell@morrisdailyherald.com.

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