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• Capital gains derived by the sale or other realisation of shares
by foreign individual or corporate shareholders are not subject
to taxation in Norway unless the shares are held in connection
with business activities carried out in or managed from
Norway.
Asset deal vs. share deal
• Sale and purchase of commercial real estate in Norway has
since 2004 normally been organised as a transfer of the
shares in a single purpose vehicle owning and holding title to
the property, rather than a sale of the property itself.
• The reason is that such indirect sale is normally tax beneficial
for the seller (very low capital gains tax because of the
participation exemption), and to a certain extent also for
the buyer, as stamp duty is not payable upon transfer of
shares. The buyer is normally compensated for a lower
depreciation basis due to any difference between the actual
market value and the tax value of the property (depending on
the classification of the property, as well as the distribution
between property construction and technical installations,
the compensation normally varies from 7 % to 14 % of the
difference). Note that land is not subject to depreciation.
Net wealth tax
• Shareholders that are limited liability companies or similar
entities tax-resident in Norway are not subject to Norwegian
net wealth tax. The same applies to shareholders not resident
in Norway for tax purposes.
• An individual shareholder resident in Norway for tax purposes
is subject to net wealth tax. Wealth tax rate is maximum
0.85 per cent.
• Foreign personal shareholders can be taxable if the
shareholding is effectively connected to the conduct of trade
or business in Norway.
Real estate tax
• The municipalities themselves decide any real estate taxes.
Not all municipalities have such tax. The overall tax rate
should be between 2 and 7 per thousand, calculated on the
basis of the real estate’s value. Within this framework, the
municipalities determine the level of the tax rate.
82 Investors Guide to Europe 2015