OSLO, March 26 (Reuters) – Norway’s parliament on Thursday passed a bill to temporarily cut petrol and diesel taxes, easing soaring fuel costs in the wake of the war in the Middle East, which has driven up the price of oil.
A vote was scheduled at short notice following a proposal from the opposition Conservative Party, bypassing the traditional fiscal budget process that can take months to complete.
The minority Labour Party government had said any changes to fiscal policy should be part of regular committee reviews, which would have delayed the vote in parliament until June at the earliest.
A temporary tax cut on petrol and diesel from April 1 to September 1 would amount to at least 3.3 billion Norwegian crowns ($342 million) in lost revenue to the state, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told parliament.
Several proposals to temporarily reduce CO2 taxes also passed, parliament’s voting record showed, adding several billion crowns to the overall cuts.
The Centre Party, which cast the deciding vote, earlier on Thursday said it would support “any proposal that can bring down taxes”.
($1 = 9.6499 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Louise Rasmussen)
