IT'S THE moment nosy neighbours have been waiting for – the release of official records showing the annual income and overall wealth of every Norwegian taxpayer.
In a move that would be unthinkable in most countries, tax authorities in Norway have issued the skatteliste, or "tax list," for 2008 to domestic media under a law designed to safeguard the country's tradition of transparency.
The annual list incl
udes data about fishermen on the western fjords, Sami reindeer herders in the north and urbanites in Oslo.
To non-Scandinavians, it appears to be a gross violation of privacy. At home, it has stirred up a media frenzy, with headlines revealing who is oil-rich Norway's wealthiest man, woman and celebrity couple.
Defenders of the system say it enhances transparency, which is essential for an open democracy.
"Isn't this how a social democracy ought to work, with openness, transparency and social equality as ideals?" wrote Jan Omdahl, a columnist for the tabloid Dagbladet. He acknowledged, however, that many treat the list as "tax porno" – furtively checking the incomes of neighbours or co-workers.
Critics say the list poses a threat to the very society the freedom of which it is meant to protect.
"What each Norwegian earns and what you have in wealth is a private matter between the taxpayer and the government," said Jon Stordrange, director of the Norwegian Taxpayer's Association.
He claimed the list, besides providing criminals with a useful tool to find prime targets, generates my-dad-is-richer-than-yours taunts in the playground.
"The children of people with low wages are being teased about it in the schools," Mr Stordrange said yesterday. "People with low salaries are being met with comments at the shop, 'How can you live on these low wages?'"
The country of 4.8 million people has the third-highest income tax among industrialised countries in 2007, according to the latest OECD statistics, behind Denmark and New Zealand.
Since the latest tax data was released on Wednesday, national media have scrambled to analyse it, building Top 10 lists and graphical breakdowns of income differentials between sexes, age groups, cities and towns.
So who's Norway's richest man? Tobacco mogul Johan Henrik Andresen, worth $2 billion (£12.bn), has surpassed last year's No 1, industrialist Kjell Inge Roekke, according to Dagbladet.
Norway's richest woman was stock market investor Tone Bjoerseth-Andersen, whose wealth of $107 million (£64.6m) placed her behind 24 men.
Newspaper Aftenposten ranked common Norwegian first names by wealth under the headline "How rich is your name?" It found men named Terje tend to do very well; among women, Marit is a sure winner.
Even in egalitarian Norway, the tax list has plenty of opponents. A 2007 survey by research group Synovate revealed that only 32 per cent of the Norwegian public wanted the tax list published, while 46 per cent were against it.
