NHO boss backs Raja on cryptography fees: – Take action to save the situation – Energy – Energy

A number of parties said this fall that data centers that extract cryptographic currencies such as bitcoin should escape subsidies in the form of a reduction in the electricity tax.

But after the government parties and the KrF decided last week to introduce a full electricity fee for such data centers, the sector warned that the sudden change in terms and conditions could affect the power supply. the whole sector, because of doubts about political stability in Norway.

Today, NHO General Manager, Ole Erik Almlid, is supporting Venstres' parliamentary representative, Abid Raja, who has faced E24 to postpone the proposal to investigate the consequences.

The employers' organization wants above all the budget partners to withdraw the proposal for a full electricity charge for data centers, but adds that a delay and a survey will help to limit the damage.

"I hope the partners will see the reason in Abid Raja's proposal earlier today. Determining this in the first place is at least a limitation of injuries," says NHO CEO Ole Erik. Almlid, E24.

"The time has come to act to save the situation, we can not have more problems now that provide unstable framework conditions for a company in conversion," he adds.

Previously, ICT Norway and the NHO organization Abelia had asked Storting's budget partners to turn around. They believe that the sudden change in framework conditions is damaging to the whole sector.

– Unfortunately, a lot of the damage has already been done, now we have to hurt. The best thing to do to limit the damage is to remove this proposal, "says Kjetil Thorvik Brun, head of technology and digitization at the NHO Abelia Association.

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Tell the billion chords lost

Over the past few days, E24 has mentioned several billion agreements that will have been concluded as international customers have pulled out of the unexpected grip of budget partners, who fear the stability of the framework conditions in particular. 39; industry.

The company Troll Housing claims to have lost a $ 1 billion deal to establish a data center in the Fræna municipality, while NTC Services claims that a customer deducted construction from a construction site. data center in the municipality of Tydal in Trøndelag.

– As revealed by E24 in recent days, the cryptovaluta budget item has already had major and costly consequences for Norwegian companies. I encourage the parties to think carefully about this point of the budget, "Almlid said.

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Do you want to hit clean cryptic centers

The four budget partners have not really fought to argue this point of the budget deal and Venstres Abid Raja rejected Tuesday E24, saying that it was he who had proposed the idea in the negotiations .

He is now ready to postpone the decision and is studying the consequences of a total tax on electricity for data centers involved in the recovery of kryptovaluta.

"The industry says that it is unpredictable that this happens overnight. Then I said that for us on the left, it is not difficult to get it. investigate this issue first, Raja told E24 on Tuesday.

He will now investigate the matter. According to the Tax Branch, a potential total electricity tax will apply to all information center operations, even if the recovery of encrypted currency represents only a small portion of the customers or their business.

"For my part, the idea of ​​introducing a complete electricity tax for cryptovaluta should not also affect the general data centers," Raja said Tuesday.

– This should affect those who deal mainly with cryptocurrency. Those who manage a little cryptocurrency come back to me in another category, he says.

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Closed client conversations

The Tax Department's investigation recently led the Green Mountain data center actor to enter into talks with many customers using blockchain technology but also able to exercise some of their cross-currency activity.

"The signals we have received are that if I have a customer who uses bitcoin equipment, you will have to pay the full electricity tax for all customers," said Tor Kristian Gyland, CEO of Green Mountain at E24 Friday.

"When this letter was sent by the Tax Branch a week and a half ago, I had to call two customers we had negotiated for a long time saying," Sorry, the risk is too great for us to work with you. So we do not need to cooperate, we have to be careful, said Gyland.