All questions

Tax residence and fiscal domicile

i Corporate residence

Limited liability companies whose effective management and control at board level are carried out in Norway are considered tax resident in Norway.

For foreign-incorporated companies to avoid tax residency in Norway, the board meetings and other decisions beyond the day-to-day management of the company must take place outside Norway.

ii Branch or permanent establishment

Norwegian tax legislation does not define a PE and, as a general rule, a foreign incorporated company conducting or participating in business in Norway will be considered as having a taxable presence in Norway. However, most Norwegian bilateral tax treaties are based on the OECD Model Tax Convention, and with Norway's extensive network of tax treaties the PE definition will normally be decisive for a company's taxable presence in Norway.

The allocation of income between a foreign head office and the taxable presence in Norway, a Norwegian PE or branch should be calculated according to the arm's-length principle.

Capital gains on shares realised by non-resident corporate shareholders are not subject to taxation in Norway unless the foreign shareholder has a PE in Norway, and the shares are effectively connected to the PE or presence in Norway and are not covered by the participation exemption.

Activities on the Norwegian continental shelf related to petroleum resources will constitute a taxable presence as a PE after a certain number of days of activity, often as little as 30 days within a 12-month period.