The Norwegian government is thinking of a proposal to remove tax incentives for data centers that mine cryptocurrency for cheaper electricity. The situation has changed, Oslo executives said, and the country needs the energy the miners are currently using.The Norwegian authorities are about to remove the tax breaks that crypto mining companies have enjoyed for years. They suggest eliminating reduced electricity rates for data centers in Nordic countries, many of which use digital currencies. In a press release of this week, the government said that, like other service industries, electricity consumption in
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Data centres will be covered by the public electricity price. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Widom explained the reasons for the decision:
Compared to the data center price cuts in 2016, we now have a completely different situation in the electricity market. In many areas, electricity is under pressure This would increase the price, Vidom explained. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency mining industry in Norway is also growing. “We need this social force. So the government will end the program,” a cabinet member said in Oslo. The study showed that it was nearly impossible to distinguish between electrical energy used to mint digital currencies and energy used by data centers for other purposes, the government said.
Officials said that if cryptocurrency mining is to be subject to standard electricity rates, tax breaks for data centers must be removed entirely. In this case, they estimate that budget revenues will increase by NOK 150 million (over $1 million) now and another NOK 110 million (over $10 million) next year. The latest development comes after a failed attempt in May to ban the energy-intensive mining of Proof of Work cryptocurrencies. Most Norwegian lawmakers have rejected a push in that direction from the far-left Red Party in Parliament. Then, they also rejected a proposal to raise electricity prices for cryptominers.
