Oil Solidarity Fund for northern Norway
A joint natural resource fund might be established by the municipalities in the northernmost Norwegian county of Finnmark ahead of the anticipated petroleum boom in the region.
The Finnmark County Council calls for the establishment of the fund, which is to help distribute oil and gas revenues more evenly among the municipalities in the region. Basis for the fund will be property tax revenues from regional industry, newspaper Sør-Varanger Avis reports.
The municipality of Sør-Varanger, located along the border to Russia, in a town council meeting last week supported the establishment of the fund. Deputy Mayor Lisbeth Isaksen believes also the government should assist with the fund and that parts of national petroleum revenues should be included.
Municipalities in the region have proposed to transfer up to 50 percent of all future property tax revenues to the new fund. That might not please the municipalities most affected by the new industry. The town of Hammerfest has from before expressed skepticism with sharing its abundant gas revenues with the neighboring municipalities.
