Sigbjørn Aanes has long been in Høyre’s most intimate circles. He is now at the throat of NRK’s case on Tina Bru’s tax notice.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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NRK revealed on Tuesday afternoon that Conservative Deputy Leader Tina Bru had received a tax fraud warning. Bru lived for several years for free in a commuter house in Oslo without paying taxes, while at the same time she rented her parents’ apartment in Stavanger.
Himself he tells VG that the dispute with the Inland Revenue concerns how much he would have to pay rent for this apartment, and denies having done anything illegal.
It is supported by Høyre’s former spin doctor and consultant Sigbjørn Aanes, who strongly criticizes the national treasurer in a Post on Facebook:
– NRK seems to mix several things together and it may appear that the ethics editor, Per Arne Kalbakk, is dizzy in the hallways or is on vacation, he writes.
You can read NRK’s answer further down in the case.
Aasnes explains to VG:
– This is a frustration that I have felt for a long time, namely that politicians are generally suspected to a large extent. This creates problems with recruiting and will be difficult for the young district politicians joining the Storting, she believes.
Aanes points out that he does not know the facts of the case and that he did not speak directly with Bru. In 2018 he left politics and became a partner of the public relations firm First House.
– I feel we have done too little to highlight the positives of politicians in Norway, although it may not help someone in First House to say that, he adds.
– Uncritical suspicion
The former Conservative councilor believes the NRK case goes too far in suspecting Tina Bru’s use of commuter accommodation.
NRK points out, among other things, that both parents, children, husband and herself were registered at one address in the period 2018-2021. They also describe that Bru’s parents were active in a Facebook group that belonged to the apartment building.
– I had to read the case three times before I realized that this comes down to the price of renting the house in Stavanger. It’s not critical journalism, it’s suspiciously uncritical, says Aasnes.
Tina Bru also believes NRK mistakenly questioned whether she actually got rid of the apartment.
– While working on this case, I have granted NRK access to parts of my notice, including the case that it concludes that I meet the commuting condition and that the Inland Revenue has no doubts that I have actually surrendered the apartment we rented. However, NRK chooses to question this, she wrote in an email to VG on Tuesday.
Bru explained that the disagreement with the Inland Revenue is about whether he should have paid the market price for the apartment in Stavanger, or whether the rent should have covered fixed expenses only.
In the period between 2018 and 2021, he paid an average of NOK 4,300 per month for rent. NRK writes that the Swedish Revenue Agency posed Statistics Survey on the rental market in Norway ashore, which indicates that Bru would have had to pay more than NOK 8,000 in rent.
Bru referred to the requirements of the “next of kin” rule, which in his view states that renting to a family is tax free as long as it covers the fixed costs of the rental property.
NRK: – Obvious news
VG presented the criticisms of Sigbjørn Aanes and Bru to NRK.
Subject director Marius Tetlie in NRK’s news division points out that it is part of the news company’s mission to write such cases about people in power:
– NRK says the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has received a warning about tax claims and that it is something he disputes. We think this is obvious news, writes Tetlie in an email to VG.
– This is the critical journalism that NRK and other media should engage in, he adds.
Tetlie believes that Tina Bru’s version of the dispute with the Revenue Agency and the background of the notice are clarified in their case.
– We also believe it is relevant to describe the facts surrounding the deal he had with the Stavanger house, he writes.
– Lawyers disagree on many of the cases of prominent politicians who have been notified of tax claims. This is clearly evident in our case.
Not a non-issue
– You’re kind of a reputation expert. Whether Tina Bru broke the law or not is one thing, but how do you think she looks outwardly?
– There are differences between cases where there were obviously illegalities, where you didn’t live where you said you lived, and people who acted in good faith that you followed the rules, replies Aanes.
Tina Bru did not share the entire notice of the Revenue Agency with neither VG nor NRK, but the latter published an excerpt in which the agency concludes that the conservative deputy leader met the conditions to be considered a commuter in the period indicated.
– I’m not saying there isn’t a case, but it’s not the individual Tina Bru case. The fact is that the Norwegian Revenue Agency disagrees with the Prime Minister’s office and the Storting on how the rules should be interpreted, Aanes says.
– What is happening now is that the press will write a lot about Tina Bru and this disagreement with the Revenue Agency. If there’s a decision that’s right, it won’t get as much attention, she adds.
45 notifications
In total, the Inland Revenue sent 45 notifications of further tax claims to the representatives of the Storting and to the members of the government who have lodged for commuters.
The Prime Minister’s office said so I disagree that politicians who have received warnings have to pay an additional fee, because they believe that the Revenue Agency has not been clear on how to interpret the rules.
The same the administration tells the Storting.
Numerous media reports last year really ignited the debate on MPs’ use of commuter accommodation.
Shortly before last year’s elections Kjell Ingolf Ropstad resigned as party leader in the KrF after by Aftenposten disclosure of its use of commuter accommodation. Eva Kristin Hansen (Ap) he resigned as president of the Storting after a similar information in Adresseavisen.
I mark Hadia Tagik resigned as a minister and deputy head of the Labor Party thereafter VG’s revelation about her commuter housing case.
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