It was not that it didn't apply to me. I've had shareholdings in Norwegian companies worth well over the deductible several times. The point is that it isn't a problem in practice as long as you're aware of it and plan accordingly. Yes, if you start a company in Norway without a liquid market for your shares, and without understanding the tax implications, you might end up having a bad time of it. If you spend an hour talking to an accountant beforehand, it's just a minor extra cost of doing business.

E.g. at a $10m valuation you'll end up paying <$90k wealth tax after rebates. If your company is valued enough that your shares are worth $10m, you can finance a $90k loan either directly or via your company, and bake it into your funding rounds. Yes, it's an extra drag on your business, but from first-hand experience, preparing for this just isn't a big deal in most instances.

You don't have to like it, and people are free to whine about it, but in reality it's a problem only if you don't know what you're doing.

> You don't have to like it, and people are free to whine about it, but in reality it's a problem only if you don't know what you're doing.

Maybe? Or maybe it's just a PITA that most people don't want to deal with? It's not nice when you company is doing well, and your reward is having to pay a bunch of extra taxes and deal with financing all that somehow.

At least, I find paying income/value-added tax a lot more palatable, since it's always over money you just received, not money you have to conjure into existence somehow.

In accounting terms I guess the tax burden just decreases the NPV of all assets.