Norway’s Conservative Party rejects Labour’s push to reverse fuel tax cuts

Norway’s Conservative Party (Høyre) has firmly rejected a proposal from the Labour Party (Ap) to revoke controversial fuel tax cuts, calling it a “bluff,” Dagbladet reports.

Finance spokesperson Nikolai Astrup told the newspaper that the tax reductions—set to take effect on May 1—will proceed as planned. “It is out of the question for Høyre to reverse these decisions as Labour wants,” he said. “We are putting our foot down.”

The Labour Party’s Tuva Moflag announced Thursday that her party seeks to abolish four of the tax cuts, arguing they may constitute illegal state aid. But Astrup accused Labour of undermining business certainty. “Our goal was to eliminate all doubt so companies wouldn’t face repayment demands,” he said. “Yet Labour insists on scrapping the cuts entirely.”

Høyre’s attempt to pause the tax reductions lacks parliamentary support. Astrup criticised Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre, saying, “If he truly believed these cuts were problematic, he would have accepted our compromise.”

Centre Party MP Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, who voted for the cuts, expects them to be implemented at midnight on May 1. “Both Høyre and Labour are now pushing for a re-vote—Høyre to delay, Labour to block,” he said. “This is fundamentally disorderly. We must follow the Storting’s [parliament’s] rules.”