G20: Norwegian minister asks Haddad to increase taxation – 02/28/2024 – Panel SA

In a meeting with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, the Minister of Finance of Norway, Trygve Vedum, defended, this Tuesday (27), more rigorous taxation in Brazil on companies that exploit natural resources.

Vedum said similar companies in Norway pay more taxes to operate and the money finances local needs, mainly health and education.

“We are a country rich in natural resources and we are proud of how the taxation system works in Norway,” Vedum told Panel SA.

“The oil and gas sectors, or fishing, for example, are not dominated by one family or large company. A good part of this money is invested in government actions.”

The minister arrived in Brazil this Tuesday and will participate in the G20 meetings in São Paulo. The agenda will include topics such as reducing inequality, energy transition and investments in the environment.

Norway is not part of the list of G20 countries, but was invited by President Lula, who presides over the group.

Currently, Brazil is Norway’s third largest investment market, second only to the USA and Sweden.

The Norwegian business community concentrates a large part of its capital on Brazilian soil in the oil and gas sectors, with a strong presence of Equinor, a mixed-capital company in which the Norwegian government is the majority shareholder; Statkraft, a company that works with renewable energy; and Yara, the fertilizer giant.

Earlier, Vedum visited the Yara factory in Cubatão (São Paulo) and said that the company can help Brazil increase fertilizer production, while reducing the production of carbon dioxide.

“Food security is important for the Brazilian government and having the self-production of fertilizers within Brazil goes beyond this. Increasing production here and reducing the carbon footprint is one of Yara’s main objectives,” said Vedum.

The Nordic country is also the main financier of the Amazon Fund, which, during the Jair Bolsonaro government, stopped allocating resources, something that was only resumed during Lula’s current administration.

With Diego Felix

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