Parliament committee seeks timeline for bank tax increase

A committee of Iceland’s parliament is asking the Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry when the amount and design of a planned bank tax increase were decided, mbl.is reports. It also wants to know whether anyone outside parliament was told how the tax would be structured and, if so, who.

The Committee on Constitutional and Supervisory Affairs opened an inquiry on its own initiative on Tuesday. It is examining comments made in late March by Þórður Snær Júlíusson, parliamentary group manager for the Social Democratic Alliance, who said the increase was expected to generate about ISK 6 billion in new state revenue in 2027.

That figure had not appeared in the government’s fiscal plan or in a presentation by Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson. After Þórður Snær’s comments, the stock exchange contacted the ministry to ask whether the information could be considered inside information.

The ministry then issued a statement, in consultation with the stock exchange, saying that neither the amount nor the design of the tax had been approved. The exchange declined on Wednesday to say whether the comments had been referred for further review by regulators or whether it considered the matter closed.

Several months later, the 2027 budget bill proposed a bank tax increase expected to raise exactly ISK 6 billion in additional revenue. In September, Daði Már said Þórður Snær had probably misunderstood information he had received, but said he could not explain why the same figure later appeared in the budget bill.

The minister said the only ISK 6 billion figure in documents provided to the governing parties’ parliamentary groups concerned increased profits at the large commercial banks. He said the amount and design of the bank tax had not been approved at the time. Þórður Snær declined to comment to mbl.is.