Since 1814, in Norway anyone can find out who earns how much and pays how much tax
As reported by BBC, not long ago the authorities introduced some restrictions to curb excessive curiosity. This rule was introduced in 2001, and everything changed immediately. "For many, it became pure entertainment," says Tom Staavi, former head of the economics department at the daily national newspaper VG. "At some point, you automatically found out how much your Facebook friends earn just by logging into the social network. It was becoming something ridiculous."
At the same time, Staavi explains that transparency is very important, partly because Norwegians pay a very high income tax – according to Eurostat data, 40.2% compared to 33.3% in Britain and 30.1% on average in the European Union. "When you pay that much, it's important for you to know that others are doing the same, and also to be sure that this money is spent on something sensible," explains Staavi. "We need to be confident in both our tax system and social security."
And this consideration is considered much more important than any problems that may arise from envy. In fact, in any organization, people have a pretty good idea of how much their colleagues earn, even without consulting any directories. Rates in many sectors of the economy are set through collective agreements, and the difference in pay is insignificant.
The difference in pay between men and women by international standards is also small. The World Economic Forum ranked Norway 3rd out of 144 countries in terms of equal pay for equal work. So the numbers that pop up on Facebook are unlikely to surprise anyone.
Yet at a certain point, a number of activists, including Tom Staavi, began lobbying for the government to introduce measures that would make people think twice before snooping into the salary details of their friend, neighbor, or colleague. Now, to access the tax authority's database online, Norwegians must enter their social security number, and for the past three years, such searches can no longer be done anonymously.
"Since 2014, it has become possible to find out who searched for information about you," explains Hans Christian Holte, head of the Norwegian Tax Administration. "We see a significant decrease in such requests, about 10% of the previous volume. In my opinion, this has curbed excessive curiosity."
Norway has 3 million taxpayers out of a total population of 5.2 million. In the year before the restriction on searching for such information was introduced, the tax authority received 16.5 million requests. Now about 2 million requests come in per year. In a recent survey, 92% of respondents said they do not look up the salaries of friends, relatives, or acquaintances.
The tax lists only disclose net income, net assets, and the amount of tax paid. A person with a large asset portfolio, for example, will be worth much more than the figures placed in the register, since the taxable value of real estate is often lower than its market value.
Hege Glad, a teacher from the port city of Fredrikstad south of Oslo, recalls that in her youth, people lined up to study the thick books published each year with data on incomes and taxes. "I know my father was one of those who was interested. He once came home in a bad mood because our wealthy neighbor was listed as a person with a small income, no assets, and most importantly, a very low income tax," says Hege.
She approves of Norway's transparency in this area, but believes it can have negative consequences, some of which she observes at school. "I remember one day coming to school, and several boys were burning with impatience to tell me how much money a classmate's father earns. I noticed that two other boys who were usually in that group quietly stepped aside. The atmosphere was not very pleasant."
There are also cases where children from low-income families are bullied at school by classmates who have checked online about their parents' financial situation. However, Hans Christian Holte believes that the authorities have now managed to strike a balance in this matter. The fact that you cannot anonymously find out the financial status of others deters criminals looking for a wealthy victim. On the other hand, the restrictions introduced three years ago have not stopped whistleblowers reporting something suspicious they have discovered.
"We want people to check the financial database because it can help us investigate tax evasion, and the amount of useful information we receive from the public has not decreased," says Holte. "Idle curiosity has more or less subsided, but we still have the ability to conduct such a search legally, and there is a certain benefit to this openness."