Tax Minister Thor Möger Pedersen is not inclined to honour an appeal from 24 leading captains of industry to change a detail in the tax reform that calls for Danish personnel stationed abroad to be taxed in Denmark.

“It is important to remember that this proposal is part of a tax reform that reduces taxes for Danes and strengthens the competitiveness of Danish companies. For me it is more important that all Danes who work have lower taxes than accepting that some do not pay Danish tax at all,” Möger Pedersen says in an e-mail to Politiken.

Industrialists from companies such as Rambøll, Haldor Topsøe, Carlsberg, A.P. Møller-Mærsk, Cowi, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, Henning Larsen Architects and F.L. Smith are among the 24 who have written to the minister, calling for the current system to stay in place.

Under the current regime, Danish staff posted overseas for more than 183 days per year do not have to pay Danish tax.

The CEOs say that a change in this system will affect competitiveness as they will have to pay much more as a net salary in order to compensate for high Danish taxes. They further argue that Danish companies will have to employ foreigners instead of Danes.

COWI says it will have to cut back to the tune of some DKK40million and lay off up to 150 employees if the changes go through.

Although Möger Pedersen promises to keep a watchful eye on developments there is no sign of a change in the plan to tax all 6,000 Danes posted abroad. Nonetheless he says that a letter from 24 captains of industry does have an impact.

“Of course it does when some of Denmark’s important export companies express their concern. So I would like to stress that this is an area and problem that I will follow closely. If the consequences are undesirable, we will have to look at it again. But as things are now everyone liable to tax in Denmark has to contribute to the welfare state,” Möger Pedersen says.

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