506 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
enon may be tax free if it is less than 20,000 kroner ($5,360) in 
value 
The National Government also levies a temporary extraordinary 
tax on property above 125,000 kroner ($33,500) in value, if it belongs 
to a natural person or a decedent’s estate (rates from 0.4 to 3 percent), 
and on all property of any value if it is located in Norway and is 
owned by a oreign corporation (rate 0.5 percent). The receipts from 
this tax are to be set aside in a fund to be used for special purposes, 
such as repayment of certain debts, relief of unemployment, and loans 
to communes for emergency work. 
The greater part of the provincial revenues is derived from a levy 
on the various rural communes located within the province, or dis- 
trict, called the repartitional tax. This tax is proportionately dis- 
tributed on the basis of the assessed value of real estate and other 
property, as well as on the basis of population and is to be met as an 
ordinary communal expenditure. The rest of the provincial revenues 
come from the real-estate taxes. The real-estate taxes on farm, forest, 
and grazing properties are based upon the land register (cadastral) 
values determined in 1863. These values have not been brought up- 
to-date and, since the tax rates must be kept within certain limits, 
the tax burden is very light. The tax base for all other real estate 
is determined from assessments made every 5 years, and the burden 
is therefore greater. 
The rural communes also levy real-estate taxes. These are on the 
same basis as the provincial real-estate taxes just described. 
An additional property tax is also levied by the rural communes. 
This is based upon the property value after deduction of debts. 
The assessment is similar to that made for the national property tax. 
Small properties are usually tax exempt. The rates are proportional 
and are limited by law to a minimum of 0.1 percent and a maximum 
of 0.38 percent, but under exceptional conditions the upper limit may 
be raised to 0.4 percent. Although the property tax was intended 
merely to be supplementary to the income tax to secure a steady flow 
of revenues, the comparatively high present rates are a heavy burden 
upon property yield'ng a low return, such as forest property. 
The minor communes, such as parishes, school districts, poor ad- 
ministration districts, and road districts, may also add a levy to the 
ordinary communal real-estate and property taxes, but the increased 
tax rates must be kept within the limits mentioned above. 
INCOME TAXES 
The Norwegian national income tax is, in principle, a levy based 
on net income. Gross income general y includes all receipts during 
the tax year, except proceeds from bequests, gifts, life insurance, or 
contributions received from the National Government or from an 
institution distributing public funds for defraying costs of cultivating 
new land and erecting new farm buildings, etc. Profits from the sale 
of real estate or other property, except securities and all personal 
property be‘onging to the taxpayer’s dwelling or household, are 
included in gross income. If the transferred property was acquired 
as a gift, the value increment is the profit. If the property was 
acquired as a bequest within the previous 5 years, there is no taxable 
profit. 
