The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence has presented its recommendation to the Storting on spending allocations for Svalbard in 2026. The committee recommends that the Storting approve total budget appropriations of 805,528,000 kroner, along with proposals for tax rates, increased revenue authority, and export duties on coal from Svalbard. The committee emphasizes that Svalbard holds significant value for Norway as a platform for research and Arctic presence, and stresses the importance of maintaining Longyearbyen as a viable Norwegian community.
AI-generated summary · Model: Claude Haiku 4.5 · Generated: 14 May 2026
These are the proposals in the document, not decisions. See the votes for the outcome.
Chapter 1, item 70: Grant to Svalbard Church 8,000,000 kroner
Chapter 3, item 50: Grant to Longyearbyen municipal authority 240,404,000 kroner
Chapter 4, item 70: Grant to Svalbard Museum 16,000,000 kroner
Chapter 5, item 1: Governor's office, operating expenses 106,038,000 kroner
Chapter 6, item 1: Governor's transport service, operating expenses 282,724,360 kroner
Chapter 7, item 30: Avalanche and housing measures, carryover 0 kroner
Chapter 7, item 70: Miscellaneous grants 0 kroner
Chapter 8, item 70: Grant to Svalbard Energi AS 118,800,000 kroner
Chapter 9, item 1: Cultural heritage measures, operating expenses 2,580,000 kroner
Chapter 11, item 1: Directorate of Mineral Management, operating expenses 2,632,000 kroner
Chapter 17, item 50: Norwegian Polar Institute – reimbursement 4,403,000 kroner
Chapter 18, items 1 and 30: Navigation facilities 5,050,000 kroner
Chapter 19, item 1: Norwegian Meteorological Institute – rent 8,702,400 kroner
Chapter 20, item 1: Statsbygg Svalbard, operating expenses 2,590,000 kroner
Chapter 22, item 1: Svalbard Tax Office, operating expenses 7,604,240 kroner
Wealth tax shall be calculated at the following rates: (a) For individuals and estates: the same rates and thresholds as the Storting has adopted for mainland Norway for national and municipal wealth tax (maximum rate); (b) For companies and associations as defined in the tax law and not exempted: the same rates and thresholds as the Storting has adopted for mainland Norway for national wealth tax.
Income tax shall be calculated at the following rates: (a) For income subject to wage withholding: 8 percent (low rate) and 22 percent (high rate); (b) 22 percent of company profit exceeding 15 million kroner and exceeding 10 times wage withholding costs plus 0.20 times the taxable value of facilities, real property, and other capital assets on Svalbard at year-end; (c) Other income: 16 percent. Individual taxpayers receive a deduction of 20,000 kroner from ordinary income under subsection (c).
Wealth and income shall be rounded down to the nearest whole krone for tax calculation purposes.
The normal interest rate under the tax law shall be the same as the Storting has adopted for mainland Norway.
Tax on dividends under the tax law is set at 20 percent.
For income taxed under the Svalbard tax law section 6-3, the rate is 8 percent.
The Storting consents to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security exceeding the allocation in 2026 on Chapter 5, item 1, to the extent of revenues exceeding the adopted budget on Chapter 3005, item 2; Chapter 6, item 1, to the extent of revenues exceeding the adopted budget on Chapter 3006, item 2; and Chapter 9, item 1, to the extent of revenues exceeding the adopted budget on Chapter 3009, item 1.
The Storting consents to the Ministry of Finance exceeding the allocation in 2026 on Chapter 22, item 1, to the extent of revenues on Chapter 3022, item 1.
For the 2026 budget period, coal exported from Svalbard shall be subject to duty to the state treasury at the following rates: 1.0 percent of value for the first 100,000 tonnes, 0.9 percent for the next 200,000 tonnes, 0.8 percent for the next 300,000 tonnes, 0.7 percent for the next 400,000 tonnes, 0.6 percent for the next 500,000 tonnes, 0.5 percent for the next 600,000 tonnes, 0.4 percent for the next 700,000 tonnes, 0.3 percent for the next 800,000 tonnes, 0.2 percent for the next 900,000 tonnes, and 0.1 percent for the next 1,000,000 tonnes.