Tax on foreign securities fund

Justices: Endresen, Webster, Noer, Falch, Steinsvik

An investment firm registered on the Cayman Islands and managed from Norway had been taxed in Norway for gains from the realisation of shares it indirectly owned in companies domiciled outside the EEA. The Supreme Court's majority of three justices found, like the Court of Appeal, that the criteria for tax exemption for such gains under section 10-31 subsection 3 of the Tax Act as the provision read in 2012 – currently section 10-20 subsection 2 – were met. The majority stated that the term "securities fund" in section 10-31 had to constitute as a fund within the meaning of the definition section 1-2 subsection 1 (1) of the Securities Funds Act. The condition in this provision that the fund must have arisen through capital contribution from an undefined range of persons was regarded as fulfilled. The minority of two justices found that the definition in the Securities Funds Act could be decisive, and that the business activity could not be considered a securities fund under section 10-31 subsection 3 of the Tax Act. The State's appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment was dismissed. Dissenting votes 3-2.