As the new year unfolds, we citizens will have new rules of the game to deal with – determined by our elected representatives in Parliament and the government.
The changes that come into effect at the turn of the year 2022/2023, and are legally binding from 1 January onwards, deal with everything from animals to expensive times:
Sick pay, care pay and nursing pay
The word “animal time” has acquired its own resonance in 2022: The year when the food queues became inexhaustible; where electricity bills reached new records almost daily and interest rates reached 2.75 per cent – the highest level since 2009.
Even if the welfare society is under pressure in 2023 as well, the economic safety net must be expanded somewhat, for some:
From the turn of the year, a number of minor simplifications, improvements and clarifications in the rules on sick pay, care pay and care pay come into force.
Among other things, the right to care allowance is being extended for parents of children with a long-term illness.
See a complete overview of the changes here.
Several receive free legal aid
The change in regulations on free legal aid means that more people will have access to legal aid.
In the last fifteen years, it has become increasingly expensive to take a case to court. The income limit for getting free legal aid, on the other hand, has remained in place since 2009. But 2023 will be the year when:
- The income limits for single people are increased from NOK 320,000 to NOK 350,000 and for couples from NOK 490,000 to NOK 540,000.
- The asset limit is increased by 50 per cent, from NOK 100,000 to NOK 150,000.
SUPREME COURT: Exterior of Norway’s Supreme Court at Supreme Court Square 1 in Oslo. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
New violence compensation law
New law for violence compensation claims is processed by the courts as part of the criminal case. The law must speed up the payment of compensation for violence.
- From the new year, compensation must be paid by the state almost immediately after a final judgment, and without an application process.
- The state will then file a recourse claim against the tortfeasor for the compensation amount.
- If there is no judgment in the case, for example because the case has been dismissed, the victim of violence can apply for compensation to the Office for Compensation for Victims of Violence.
This should lead to faster payment of compensation to the injured party.
– The new scheme will ensure an almost automatic payment to victims of violence who have been awarded compensation by judgement. This currently accounts for around 67 per cent of violence compensation cases, said Minister of Justice and Emergency Emilie Enger Mehl back in September.
SWITZERLAND: Industrial billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke announced in September that he is moving to Lugano in Switzerland. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
Expatriation tax
The animal feeding year 2022 has not only been difficult for the record number of Norwegians who have found themselves having to either stand in food queues or ask for help from Nav. Or both.
The year has apparently also been heavy for the record number of Norwegian millionaires and billionaires who have found themselves forced to flee the country in order to secure their personal wealth.
The tax crowns that disappear with Kjell Inge Røkke and the 29 other tax refugees prompted the government to respond in kind:
- The so-called five-year rule is repealed with effect from 29 November 2022.
- Shares transferred to everyone close relatives residing abroad will trigger expatriation tax. Previously, this only applied to spouses.
New Gambling Act
The new law replaces the three current laws in the gambling field: the Gambling Act, the Lottery Act and the Totalizer Act.
The law states that “the state’s control increases with the exclusive rights providers and gives the authorities more tools to supervise and control the gambling market”.
Weapons amnesty
Have you inherited a weapon, or do you have a firearm that you don’t know is registered?
The government introduces arms amnesty between 1 January and 1 June 2023. In other words, you can hand in weapons during the said period without risking punishment.
The amnesty also applies to ammunition and to illegal weapons that are not firearms, such as electric shock weapons, illegal knives and tear gas.
Housing savings for young people (BSU)
As of 1 January, it is weakened Housing savings for young people (BSU), in that the tax deduction is reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent of the paid-in savings amount.
If you deposit the maximum amount of NOK 27,500, you will no longer receive NOK 5,500 in reduced tax, but only NOK 2,750.
The change applies from and including the income year 2023.
WILD BOAR: The government will intensify wild boar hunting in 2023. Photo: Gerhard Lachs/ NTB
Wild boar hunting
From 1 January 2023, the government will allow the use of motor vehicles on bare land in the outback to transport wild boar.
The purpose of the government is to intensify wild boar hunting.
The plan is to get “the fewest possible wild boars in the smallest possible area”, according to the Ministry of Climate and the Environment Action plan against wild boar.
Dog law
The year 2022 has been a serious year, also in Brumunddal, where a one and a half year old boy was bitten to death by his grandmother’s dog.
KILLED: The Rottweiler, which bit its owner’s grandson to death, was put down shortly afterwards. Photo: The police
Now changes the dog lawwith the aim of preventing injuries and inconveniences related to dog keeping.
As of 1 January, the requirements for the dog keeper’s competence will be tightened. Such competence includes, among other things, knowledge of keeping and training a dog and knowledge of the dog’s needs, natural behaviour, area of use and the damage potential the dog can pose.
