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- Norway votes in a closely fought election with the future of a wealth tax in focus</p>
<p>September 8, 2025 at 1:12 AM</p>
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<p>1 / 5Norway ElectionJonas Gahr Store, right, chairman of Norway's Ap party buys food during an election tour in Stavanger, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB Scanpix via AP)</p>
<p>OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norwegians headed to the polls Monday in the main day of voting for a new parliament, after a campaign in which the future of a wealth tax that dates to the late 19th century has been a central issue.</p>
<p>About 4.3 million people in the Scandinavian nation are eligible to vote for the new 169-member parliament, or Storting. A close outcome is expected between a center-left bloc led by the Labor Party of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and a right-wing bloc.</p>
<p>Official results are expected Tuesday, and they are likely to be followed by weeks of negotiations to build a coalition and agree on Cabinet positions before King Harald can swear in a new government.</p>
<p>The result isn't likely to have major implications for Norway's foreign policy. The country is a stalwart member of NATO and a strong supporter of Ukraine's defense against Russia, with which it has a border in the Arctic north. It isn't a member of the European Union but has close economic ties with the 27-nation bloc.</p>
<p>Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. It has a generous welfare state, sits on billions of barrels of oil and gas, and has one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, worth around 20 trillion kroner ($2 trillion). Gross domestic product per person is the sixth-highest in the world, one place above the U.S., according to the International Monetary Fund.</p>
<p>It is also one of the world's most egalitarian countries, sharing its wealth much more evenly than many others.</p>
<p>Labor wants to keep the wealth tax that has been a mainstay of Norwegian policy since 1892 — a levy of up to 1.1% on assets and shares worth more than 1.76 million kroner (around $176,000), though there are various reductions and discounts. Labor says that scrapping it would cost 34 billion kroner ($3.3 billion) per year.</p>
<p>Of its rivals on the right, the Conservatives want it reduced and the Progress Party of Sylvie Listhaug, which calls for lower taxes and more immigration controls, wants it scrapped.</p>
<p>Polls have shown Listhaug's party ahead of the Conservatives, led by former Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who were the senior partner in the last center-right government from 2013 to 2021. It has been bolstered by an energetic social media campaign, driven by youthful influencers who have inspired younger voters against the wealth tax.</p>
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