The Norwegian salmon-farming industry has experienced a highly eventful year, with record-breaking prices and earnings, resulting in Norway posting all-time-highs in reported export revenues.

However, since September 2022, the industry has been concerned about the Norwegian government’s plan to introduce a new tax to salmon farms in 2023. Although the government is expected to provide more clarity in the coming weeks, the initial proposal of a 40 percent resource tax requirement for all salmon and trout farms harvesting 5,000 metric tons (MT) or more per year has resulted in a firestorm of criticism.

The industry believes this tax proposal, which comes on top of a 22 percent corporation tax, will jeopardize long-term industry growth, causing leading Norwegian salmon-farming firms’ share prices to tumble.

Despite the looming tax proposal, Pareto Securities Equity Research remains confident in the health and resilience of Norway’s salmon industry. However, Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim said that the proposal to triple the tax level for Norwegian salmon farming to 62 percent or up to 80 percent when factoring in the country’s wealth tax is unsustainable. This tax burden would limit the industry’s future growth and development and potentially lead to the demise of Norway’s salmon-farming economy.

The tax proposal has already had a significant impact, with many leading players warning that long-term industry growth has been jeopardized. Many investments in the industry have been put on hold, and last year’s new-license auction saw prices paid for new capacity far below the market’s expectations.