Norwegian Government Proposes to Eliminate Electricity Tax Reduction for Bitcoin Miners
"We are in a completely different situation in the electricity market now than when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016," Norway's finance minister said.
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Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, Norway's finance minister, has suggested the government abolish a system that allows crypto data centers to pay a reduced tariff on electricity.
In an October 6 announcement, the Norwegian government proposed that data centers operating in the country would be subject to the same electricity tax rates as other industries, representing a potential policy shift for data centers. Bitcoin (BTC) miners. According to the government, the reduced rate should be phased out as demand for electricity increased in some areas.
“We are in a completely different situation in the electricity market now than when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016,” the finance minister said. "In many places, the electricity supply is now under pressure, leading to higher prices. At the same time, we are seeing an increase in cryptocurrency mining in Norway. We need this power to the community."
In May, Norway's parliament rejected a proposal to ban cryptocurrency mining first put forward by the country's Red Party. Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at Arcane Research, told Cointelegraph at the time that Norwegian political parties would "likely make another attempt to raise the electricity tax specifically for miners" with an outright ban.
>Many BTC mining companies currently operate in Norway, using 100% renewable energy sources and contributing 0.74% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, according to data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. However, many residents of the municipality of Sortland, in the north of the country, have
"We are in a completely different situation in the electricity market now than when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016," Norway's finance minister said.
New
Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, Norway's finance minister, has suggested the government abolish a system that allows crypto data centers to pay a reduced tariff on electricity.
In an October 6 announcement, the Norwegian government proposed that data centers operating in the country would be subject to the same electricity tax rates as other industries, representing a potential policy shift for data centers. Bitcoin (BTC) miners. According to the government, the reduced rate should be phased out as demand for electricity increased in some areas.
“We are in a completely different situation in the electricity market now than when the reduced rate for data centers was introduced in 2016,” the finance minister said. "In many places, the electricity supply is now under pressure, leading to higher prices. At the same time, we are seeing an increase in cryptocurrency mining in Norway. We need this power to the community."
In May, Norway's parliament rejected a proposal to ban cryptocurrency mining first put forward by the country's Red Party. Jaran Mellerud, an analyst at Arcane Research, told Cointelegraph at the time that Norwegian political parties would "likely make another attempt to raise the electricity tax specifically for miners" with an outright ban.
>Many BTC mining companies currently operate in Norway, using 100% renewable energy sources and contributing 0.74% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, according to data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. However, many residents of the municipality of Sortland, in the north of the country, have
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