Supreme Court of Norway Ruling: Tax law. Tax-related ownership of a power plant.

Oslo, Norway: Supreme Court of Norway has issued the following Ruling on (22 June 2017):

Tax law. Tax-related ownership of a power plant

In connection with expiration of previous licences, an energy company had entered into an agreement with Statkraft regarding continued lease of the waterway to which the licences were attached, and regarding access to build new developments on the waterway, The energy company built a new power plant that was to be transferred to Statkraft at the end of the lease agreement. The Supreme Court concluded that it was the energy company and not Statkraft that for tax purposes was the owner of the new power plant, cf. section 18-2, subsection 1 of the Tax Act, and thus liable for natural resource tax, ground rent tax and property tax, as opposed to the other power plants that were covered by the agreement. Significant importance was attached to the fact that the energy company was referred to in the agreements as the owner of any new facilities, and that this proprietary position in relation to private law also had to form the basis for the assessment of ownership in relation to tax law.

Supreme Court HR-2017-1231-A, (case no. 2016/2035), civil case, appeal against judgment.