Today’s big topic: Double taxation for summer-house owner violates the Danish Constitution

What’s happening?

Kirsten Rønø, a retired chemical engineer, does not mind paying taxes on her summer house in Fårevejle, by Sejrø Bay.

But being made to pay tax on the same thing twice, she says, is pushing it. That is what she has been forced into by the Danish Assessment Agency and Odsherred Municipality.

More specifically, she was billed 19,672 DKK in land tax on the summer-house plot, even though she had already paid the tax once before.

The Assessment Agency and the municipality are, in fact, in agreement that this is double taxation. The problem is that neither of them wants to fix it.

Why it matters!

That has made Kirsten Rønø and her husband part of a growing group of residents who have been hit by a new practice in the tax administration that, based on the Assessment Agency’s valuations, is collecting taxes people do not actually owe.

Part of that practice is that staff in the tax administration, with explanations that are more or less imaginative, refuse to help or intervene when residents repeatedly reach out.

Homeowners have experienced that a trivial change in the municipality’s BBR register has triggered unjustified additional property-value tax bills of 50,000 or 100,000 DKK.

One summer-house owner found that building a small summer house in 2023 meant that in 2024 he lost his tax discount and received an extra bill of 75,000 DKK. Several homeowners have seen their property-value tax doubled after losing a spouse.

Still curious? Read the full article here.

In other news

– Survivors and families appeal agency acquittal in ’Scandinavian Star’ case

All 47 survivors and relatives in a case stemming from the deadly 1990 fire aboard the ferry ’Scandinavian Star’ are appealing the district court’s acquittal of the Danish Maritime Authority. That is according to attorney Lisa Edl-Dalgas of Pramming Advokater, who represents the 47, speaking to Ritzau. The disaster struck in April 1990 as the ferry was traveling from Oslo, Norway, to Frederikshavn. One hundred fifty-nine people were killed. Forty-seven survivors and relatives of those who died filed suit against the Danish Maritime Authority, seeking compensation of 450,000 DKK each. They argued that the authority should have inspected the ferry before it was put on the route and that their human rights had been violated. In May, the three judges at the District Court in Næstved concluded that the authority at the time had no duty to inspect, or to carry out a so-called port state control, of the ferry before it began operating.

– Hacker group claims to be behind attack on Novo Nordisk

A hacker group says it unsuccessfully tried to extort a $25 million ransom from the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, Reuters reported, citing information provided by the group itself. That is equivalent to 160 million DKK. FulcrumSec, described as a cyber-extortion group, claims it had access to the company’s systems for more than two months. The group says it stole a terabyte of data during that period. The material includes, according to the group, confidential information on approved and unapproved drugs, as well as information about employees, doctors and patients, the group wrote on its website. According to Reuters, FulcrumSec is exploring the possibility of selling some of the material after Novo Nordisk reportedly refused to meet the group’s demands.

– Wolves have forced stud-farm owners to choose between the lesser of two evils

This spring, the debate over wolves has flared up again. On social media, the discussion has reached a boiling point as countless videos and photos have surfaced: wolves roaming through a summer-cottage area; a wolf following a teenager down the street; sheep, calves and ponies mutilated and killed. Figures from the Danish Agency for Green Land Conversion and Water Environment show that last year there were more than 200 attacks on livestock that can be attributed to wolves. Anna Gøtske describes it as a choice between the lesser of two evils. Without a wolf fence, it is easy for the predator to get into the paddock and chase the ponies until it clamps its jaws around one of their hindquarters. So far, mother and daughter have opted not to put up a wolf fence around this paddock. Because with a wolf fence, another risk emerges. According to the two women, a wolf can jump over the fence or slip underneath it, and once the predator gets in, all hell breaks loose.

Talk of town: She never managed to make friends in Copenhagen. Now she has advice for other newcomers

Copenhagen is called the best city in the world to live in, but even if the pay is good, the streets are reasonably clean, and one of the most dangerous things you can do is bike during rush hour, there is still one challenge that many hopeful newcomers from abroad struggle with.

A challenge that is pretty central to building a good life, and that neither a freshly buttered roll with cheese nor a beautifully designed bike bridge can magically fix:

It’s hard for outsiders to make Danish friends in Copenhagen. So hard that some people simply give up on the city and move away again. Last year, 33,000 internationals arrived in Copenhagen through International House. If the current trend continues, around half of those who have settled in Copenhagen for work will have left the country again in five years, Michael Ryan Andersen says, head of office for Tourism and Internationalization at the City of Copenhagen.

In some cases, moving on is part of the plan. But surveys from the City of Copenhagen show that for others the move is driven by factors like a lack of social and cultural ties both at and outside the workplace, including difficulties making friends.

Still curious? Read the full article here.

This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.