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statistikk
2014-08-14T10:00:00.000Z
Public sector
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In 2013, approximately 700 000 taxpayers chose to receive only an electronic tax return, which was an increase of 240 000 taxpayers or 54 per cent from 2012.

The Norwegian Tax Administration - StatRes (discontinued), 2013

This statistics has been discontinued. Consult the statistics Tax statistics for companies and Tax statistics for personal tax payers, together with The Norwegian Tax Administration.

Content

About the statistics

Definitions

Name and topic

Name: The Norwegian Tax Administration - StatRes (discontinued)
Topic: Public sector

Responsible division

Division for Accounting Statistics

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

Input measured in NOK:

Own production is defined, in principle, as the sum of the costs of the input factors that the different activities use to carry out activities and produce services. These are wage costs, the purchase of goods and services and use of fixed assets. Figures concerning use of fixed assets, i.e. depreciation and imputed interests, are not available. Therefore, this element is excluded from own production. The latter is not valid for the health enterprises, where depreciation is included in goods and services. The enterprises’ costs of purchase of goods and services, which are replacements for their own production of similar services, do not enter into their own production concept. Such costs are instead classified as transfers .

Wage costs are defined as the total remuneration payable to the employees, including social security contributions. Reimbursements are subtracted. In addition, an estimated amount, due to lack of pension contributions to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, is included in the wage costs, see section 3.6.

Purchase of goods and services covers the value of utilized goods and services used in the production. Purchases that are not utilizes in the production, are not part of the purchase concept. Such purchases enter into the category of transfers .

Estimated contributions to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund correspond to the estimated amount added to the enterprises which do not have those pension costs included in their accounts, see section 3.6.

Transfers comprise current payments to the private sector. For the Tax Administration transfers are primarily the amount that the entities have charged on other chapters in the Central Government's fiscal account. In addition, transfers may cover purchases of goods and services that do not enter in the production, as mentioned under Own production and Purchase of goods and services.

Investments cover procurements of fixed capital. Sales of fixed assets are deducted. Any net acquisition of land is also included in this category.

Total expenditure is made up of the sum of own production, transfers and investments.

Input measured in contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves:

Contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves is defined as the sum of the number of full-time jobs and part-time jobs converted to full-time equivalents, excluding man-years lost due to doctor-certified absence and parental leave. See section 3.6.

Other indicators:

Person (or individual) includes personal tax entities, i.e. where a person is the legal entity and thus tax entity. This applies to wage earners, pensioners and self-employed persons. A person is called a self-employed person if he/she conducts business at his/her own account and risk, and is required to document entrepreneurial income as an addition to the tax return form.

Companies include legal tax entities, i.e. where a company is the legal entity and thus tax entity. For example, this will include private and public limited companies (AS and ASA), Norwegian branches of foreign enterprises (NUF), companies with limited liability (BA), mutual funds, taxable foundations, associations and institutions, savings banks, municipal corporations, state enterprises, etc.

The Tax settlement is the result of the tax assessment and is sent out to taxable persons and companies. The Tax Administration collects electronic data from banks, employers, other public records, securities clearing systems, stock and bond funds, etc. and fill out the tax return for individuals. Companies need to fill out the tax returns themselves. The tax return is either accepted in the pre-completed form or returned to the Tax Administration that carries out the assessment and prepares the tax settlement. The result of the tax settlement is sent to the taxpayers primarily in two turns. Most wage earners and pensioners receive the tax settlement in June, while self-employed persons and individuals with more complex tax issues receive their settlement in October. Companies also receive the tax settlement in October. In some cases, a person or a company can receive several tax settlements in the course of a year. For example if the current tax settlement or a tax settlement from a previous year has been corrected.

Ordinary income is a net income and shall be calculated for all taxable entities, both persons and companies. All types of taxable income, net of all deductible expenses, are covered. Ordinary income is the basis for calculating tax.

Assessed tax is the sum of tax (net of tax deductions) on income and wealth that is assessed by the Tax Administration and the taxpayers therefore should pay. The municipal tax collectors collect the tax.

Tax complaints include all complaints, both within and outside the time limit, on the tax office's resolution. If a person or a company believes that the tax assessment is incorrect, a complaint can be sent to the tax office, which handles the complaint. The appeal must be submitted within 3 weeks after the settlement was announced. Complaints about correction issues (tax resolutions the tax offices have altered after receiving a complaint or matters that the tax offices have revised on their own initiative) are treated by the Tax Appeals Committee. These complaints are not covered by the statistics.

VAT return is a statement of turnover and payment of goods and services for enterprises. Taxable enterprises are required to register in the VAT register, and they will then receive periodic VAT forms from the Tax Administration. The enterprise is obliged to return the completed form. The Tax Administration controls the forms and assesses the value added tax.

Value added tax (VAT) is a general sales tax on the consumption of goods and services. VAT shall be calculated and paid on the sale of all goods and services, unless the revenue is specifically exempted. Revenues must still be of a certain size to be taxable. Special rules apply for the general government sector. The tax offices assess the VAT on the basis of the submitted VAT returns or in cases of missing or incorrect returns, at the best of their knowledge. The tax office is also responsible for collecting value added tax.

Employer's National Insurance contributions (payroll tax) is a tax that employers must pay for their employees as part of the financing of the National Insurance. The tax is paid on the basis of salary and other taxable remuneration for work and contracts within and outside a contractual employment relationship. The tax office assesses the employer’s National Insurance contributions, while the municipal tax collectors collect it.

Inheritance and gift cases : Those who receive inheritance from a private administration of a deceased's estate and those who receive gifts are required to send a completed inheritance or gift form and any disclosure forms to the tax office. The tax office then processes the inheritance or gift case and determines the inheritance tax.

Inheritance tax is a tax on inheritance and certain gifts. The inheritance or gift must exceed a certain amount before it is taxable. The tax office assesses and collects the inheritance tax.

Accounting controls (disclosure controls) is a control of the accounts of an enterprise. The purpose is to verify that the submitted statements (tax returns and VAT returns) are correct. If errors are discovered in the submitted statements, a revised calculation of income and/or tax is carried out. Depending on the degree of the tax evasion, the enterprise or person can be calculated an additional tax. In severe cases, the tax evasion will be reported to the police/prosecuting authority.

Changes in the income base due to accounting controls that have resulted in actual resolutions. Read more under the definition of accounting controls above.

Filed police reports include reports of income and/or tax evasion. A report may also be filed if obligatory tax forms are not submitted (tax returns or VAT returns). Complicity in tax evasion can also lead to prosecution.

Population registration is carried out by the tax office. The National Population Register is a register of all persons who live or have been resident in Norway. In addition to the registration of information on the basis of notifications, the National Population Register is responsible for testing the conditions of marriage, name changes, issuance of certificates, personal identification numbers and D-number assignment.

A change of address (move) notification must be submitted to the tax office within 8 days after the move took place. The tax office records the move in the National Population Register. If you have immigrated to Norway from abroad, you must meet in person at a tax office within 8 days after arrival to register. Also when emigrating from Norway, the move must be reported to the tax office, with the exception of moving to the Nordic countries. When moving to the Nordic countries the Norwegian National Population Register receives a notification from the immigration country.

Change of marital status includes marriage, separation and divorce. The tax office records marriages carried out in Norway after the message has been sent in from the person authorised to perform the marriage. If the wedding happened abroad, the couple must themselves submit to the tax office the original marriage certificate. Separations and divorces are registered by the tax office on the basis of notifications from the county or court. The tax offices also record the termination of separations and any corrections and cancellations of marriages, separations and divorces.

A birth notification is submitted to the tax office by the hospital where the child is born, and the tax office records the birth in the National Population Register, and the child is given a personal identification number.

A death notification is a message from the court or the sheriff of deaths to be recorded in the National Population Register. In cases of deaths of Norwegian citizens abroad, the Norwegian foreign service mission will send the death notification to the Directorate of Taxes, which records the death in the National Population Register.

Name and change of name is registered by the tax office on the basis of a form and attached certificates. In cases of name choices for babies a form to submit the name of the child is automatically sent home to the parents from the tax office after the child is given a personal identification number. The parents are required to return the form before the baby is six months old.

In addition to the aforementioned records, the tax offices also carry out a large number of other records such as address changes without moving, change of residence permits, change of postal address, change of family number and more.

The number of registered births, deaths, marital status changes, migrations, etc. will deviate from Statistics Norway's population statistics. The reason is that StatRes - Tax Administration provides statistics on the Tax Administration's work and not the number of births, deaths, etc. in Norway in a given year. Among other things, StatRes - Tax Administration also includes corrections and cancellations of previously recorded notifications.

Calls to the Tax Hotline comprises telephone calls to the Tax Administration’s advisory service.

Percentage of calls answered is the proportion of telephone calls answered by the Tax Hotline of all calls, including those requesting to be called back. Enquiries by phone will be guided to different pre-defined queues attached to tax return and tax for persons, population registry, tax issues for companies, inheritance and gift issues and other matters. Specific cases, such as assessed tax value of houses, that has its own queue for phone calls in a certain year, will not be included as a separate indicator in the statistics.

The Tax Administration offers a variety of online services, such as electronic move notification , electronic delivery of tax returns , electronic application for a new tax withholding card (including tax-exempt card) and electronic delivery of the VAT return . These electronic services are offered to persons and companies via the Tax Administration's website or through other cooperating public Internet sites. In addition, the Tax Administration also offers a non-response approval of the tax return if the person approves the pre-completed tax return. I.e. that you do not need to submit your tax return if you accepts the pre-completed form. Furthermore, taxpayers are offered to receive tax returns electronically, which means that taxpayers choosing this alternative, receive the tax return electronically only and not on paper.

The assessed value added tax is the tax amount in total to be paid from the VAT dutiable and collected VAT as a percentage of assessed VAT shows the ratio between the amount of VAT collected (i.e. voluntarily paid in and collected through enforced actions) in relation to the amount of VAT that was assessed for the same period. The statistics cover the work done to collect the VAT starting from the fourth quarter the previous year and including the first, second and third quarter the current year. This work coincides best with the statistical timeline. The VAT payment is not equal to the VAT proceeds. When the VAT dutiable have net VAT due from the state, the VAT due from the state must be deducted from the VAT payment to calculate the VAT proceeds.

Collected inheritance tax as a percentage of assessed inheritance tax shows the ratio between the amount of inheritance tax that is collected and the amount of inheritance tax assessed.

Related indicators:

The ordinary assessment is completed in the fall. Collected tax arrears shows what ratio of the tax arrears that is collected by 31 December the following year. This includes tax which was timely paid by the taxpayer, delayed payments, and the amount which is collected through enforced actions. It is the municipal tax collectors which are responsible for collection of tax arrears, and this indicator can thus not be entirely linked the work done by the Tax Administration.

Payroll tax is a tax that employers must pay for their employees as part of the financing of the National Insurance. Collected payroll tax shows how much of the total Employer's National Insurance contributions is collected by 31 December the following year. This includes what is paid by the employer in time, as well as delayed payments and the amount which is collected through enforced action. The Municipal Treasurers are responsible for collecting payroll tax, and this indicator can thus not be entirely linked to the work done by the Tax Administration.

Collected tax as a percentage of assessed tax shows net paid-in tax by 31 December the following year as a percentage of assessed tax. The indicator includes personal and non-personal taxpayers but excludes companies taxed pursuant to the Petroleum Tax Act. It is the Municipal Treasurers which are responsible for collection of tax arrears, and this indicator can thus not be entirely linked to the work done by the Tax Administration.

Standard classifications

Input measured in NOK:

Expenditure is classified by the structure of the national account, which broadly corresponds with the definitions in IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 ( GFSM2001 ). In a few cases, the definitions are deviated for the purpose of a more realistic picture of the use of resources.

Administrative information

Regional level

National level.

Frequency and timeliness

Annual.

International reporting

No.

Microdata

Final statistical files are documented and stored.

Background

Background and purpose

The objective of StatRes is to present statistics on central government input, the results in terms of activities and services, and the outcomes of the input. The purpose of such statistics is to give the general public and the authorities improved knowledge of state-run activities. StatRes was developed upon commission by the Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church affairs. As from 2013, StatRes is a part of the ongoing statistics in Statistics Norway.

The purpose of the statistics for the Norwegian Tax Administration in StatRes is to show how much resources the state uses to ensure that taxes are set and collected in the correct manner and that the country has an updated national population register. In addition, the statistics should show what the input of resources provides of activities and services and the results that follow the input.

The first publications in StatRes took place in the autumn of 2007. The Tax Administration was included in StatRes in 2010, with time series back to 2008.

Users and applications

StatRes’ target group are users of statistics with some knowledge of and interest in central government activities who require information on resource use, activities, services and outcomes of government activities. Such users could be the general public, the media, politicians and students. StatRes provides the authorities with information which are supplements to other information used in the governing of central government activities.

Coherence with other statistics

The StatRes indicators should be viewed in context of Statistics Norway’s specialized statistics on similar areas and the statistics compiled by the Tax Administration. The indicators for resource input are especially developed by Statistics Norway for use in StatRes, and may in some cases differ from similar figures presented in other accounting reports for the Tax Administration.

Input measured in NOK:

The central government sector, including the Tax Administration, is part of the national account (NA), where the fiscal account is one of the main data sources. Some transactions are classified differently in StatRes compared to the national account, but most of the deviations are insignificant.

Input measured in contracted man-years:

Statistics Norway does not publish other particular statistics on employment in the central government sector today, but the employees are included in Statistics Norway’s general register-based employment statistics where the employees and their contracted working hours are only counted in the enterprise where the employee performs her/his main position. StatRes also includes second jobs, in addition to 1) inclusion of employees more than 74 years old, 2) inclusion of employees on a short-term stay in Norway and 3) subtraction of doctor-certified absence and parental leave.

Employees in the central government sector are also published in NA, by full-time equivalent persons , which are nearly the same as contracted man-years (in StatRes, contracted man-years adjusted for long-term leaves are published). The number of full-time equivalent persons in central government in NA is nearly identical to the figures in the register-based employment statistics, but the estimation methods and sources are different. The NA also publish figures for total hours worked , based upon a complex estimation system. The NA only publish figures on aggregated levels.

Other indicators:
Statistics Norway publishes annual tax statistics for persons and companies which, among other things, include total assessed taxes by fiscal year. StatRes for the Tax Administration also publishes assessed taxes for persons and companies, but here the assessed taxes follow the Tax Administration’s working year. As the Tax Administration assesses the taxes the year following the fiscal year, thus the figures in StatRes are assigned to the year after the current fiscal year. In addition, there may be minor differences between the numbers as SSBs tax statistics undergo processing where adjustments and minor changes in the figures can occur.

Statistics Norway also publishes annual inheritance tax statistics , which includes inheritance tax by decision date. StatRes for the Tax Administration publishes inheritance tax assigned to the Tax Administration's working year. Since the decision dates are linked to the working year, these figures are basically the same. But even here there may be discrepancies between the numbers as the inheritance tax statistics undergo processing where adjustments and minor changes in the figures can occur.

The number of registered births, deaths, marital status changes, migrations, etc. will deviate from Statistics Norway's population statistics . The reason is that StatRes - Tax Administration provides statistics on the Tax Administration's work and not the number of births, deaths, etc. in Norway in a given year. Among other things, StatRes - Tax Administration also includes corrections and cancellations of previously recorded notifications.

Legal authority

The Statistics Act §§ 2-2 and 3-2.

EEA reference

No.

Production

Population

The statistics comprises the central governments input of resources to the Tax Administration. The Tax Administration is responsible for assessing the tax on wealth and income, employer's National Insurance contributions (payroll tax), inheritance tax and value added tax (VAT). In addition, the Tax Administration is also responsible for keeping the National Population Register in Norway up to date. Control of payment and collection of taxes are split between the Tax Administration and the municipal tax collectors. The Tax Administration is responsible for the inheritance tax and the value added tax, while the tax collectors are responsible for collecting the income and wealth tax, the membership contribution to the national insurance and employers' national insurance contributions. In principle, the statistics only include the Tax Administration's portion of this work, but the related indicators may also include work done by the municipal tax collectors.

From 1 January 2008 the Tax Administration consists of the Directorate of Taxes and tax offices.

  • The Directorate of Taxes, which is placed under the Ministry of Finance and head by the Tax Director, has the central professional and administrative leadership of the Tax Administration.
  • The Tax Administration’s IT and service partner, which is the Tax Administration’s supplier of IT and administrative services.

The tax offices are organized into five regions. The regions are placed under the Directorate of Taxes and led by regional directors. The five regions are:

  • Tax North (Comprising the counties of Finnmark, Troms and Nordland)
  • Tax Mid-Norway (Comprising the counties of Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal)
  • Tax West (Comprising the counties of Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Rogaland)
  • Tax South (Comprising the counties of Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder, Telemark, Vestfold and Buskerud)
  • Tax East (Comprising the counties of Oslo, Akershus, Østfold, Hedmark and Oppland)

The former tax assessment offices, tax collection offices and the County tax offices are thus united in a regional organization called the Tax Office. The Tax Office can deal with matters from all over the country and in all activity areas.

The Tax Hotline is a guidance service for The Tax Administration and is organized as a separate entity, within the five regions.

The Central Office for Foreign Tax Affairs and the Central Office for Taxation of Large-Sized Companies are a part of the regions, while the Petroleum Tax Office is a separate entity under the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate of Taxes.

Data sources and sampling

Input measured in NOK:

The accounting figures are based on data reported to the Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management (SSØ) in connection with the preparation of the state accounts (Report no. 3 to the Storting).

Input measured in contracted man-years:

Register-based employment statistics in Statistics Norway are based on individual register data from various registers. Information related to employees and agreed working hours per week is mainly collected from the NAV State Register of Employers and Employees, the End of the Year Certificate Register, the Tax Register (the Directorate of Taxes), and payroll registers. The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities in Brønnøysund and Statistics Norway’s Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises provide data on industries and sectors for enterprises and underlying establishments. NAV’s register of participants in labour market initiatives, recipients of parental benefits and doctor-certified absence are also included. The employment statistics is therefore based on a number of different sources. Statistics Norway has developed a system for common utilization of these sources.

Other indicators:
 The data for the other indicators are mainly obtained from the Tax Administration's nationwide registers:

  • Results related to the determination of taxes collected from SL (System for Ligning).
  • Results related to the payment and collection of taxes collected from the system SOFIE.
  • The determination and collection of value added tax are collected from the VAT system.
  • Inheritance tax is handled by the system of inheritance tax (ARVE). ARVE is part of the VAT system, and collection is handled by the VAT system.
  • Population registry data is obtained from the National Population Register.
  • Information related to procedures (such as complaints about the equation) obtained from the agency's electronic journal and archive system (Elark).

The statistics is based on complete enumeration.

Collection of data, editing and estimations

Input measured in NOK:

Data from the Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management to Statistics Norway is transmitted electronically.

Input measured in contracted man-years:

Extracts from several registers (see 3.2).

Other indicators:

Data on activities, services and outcome is collected from the Tax Administration.

Definition and classification of the population for each year are controlled against the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises (BoF), which is practically identical to the Brønnøysund Register of Business Enterprises.

Input measured in NOK:

Indicators based on accounting data are compared to the corresponding figures in the Central Government's fiscal account.

Input measured in contracted man-years:

The three most important registers concerning production of the statistics follow this procedure for control and revision: The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration conducts an annual control of the NAV State Register of Employers and Employees. Statistics Norway controls that enterprises with more than one establishment have separate numbers for each, and that the employees are registered with the correct establishment. Statistics Norway also controls the NAV State Register of Employers and Employees by comparing it with the the Register of End of the Year Certificate (LTO) etc. Some kinds of errors are also corrected directly in the basic data for the employment statistics. Furthermore, the contracted man-years adjusted for long-term leaves are checked against the wage costs mentioned above, in addition to the basic data for the wage statistics from payroll registers.

Other indicators:
 Control is mainly undertaken by the Tax Administration. In addition, Statistics Norway checks all data to previous years and any other available sources.

Input measured in NOK:

See section 4.1 for further explanation of the terms that are applied in the description below.

The data set received from the Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management covers most of the enterprises in the StatRes population. These data reflect the input that the enterprises have transmitted to the Agency for Financial Management in the purpose of composing the fiscal account. The data set contains information regarding which enterprise that has reported the various payments. Statistics Norway sorts out the entities included in the Tax Administration. Secondly, these entities are composed to StatRes for the Tax Administration.

Each payment recorded will be ascribable to one of the main categories of input measured in NOK: Own production, investments, transfers and financial transactions. The categories are closely related to the fiscal budget expenditure divided into operating expenses (items 1-29), fixed capital formation (items 30-49) and transfers to others (items 60-89). Any financial transactions (items 90-99) and central government internal transfers are removed from the data set.

The payments recorded as own production are further attributed to the following categories: Wage costs and purchase of goods and services. Wage costs are comparable to the fiscal budget’s items 01.11 to 01.19. Purchase of goods and services are comparable to items 01.21 to 01.29.

A number of central government enterprises have no pension costs recorded in their accounts. These enterprises do not contribute directly to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, where its employees are members. These contributions are covered by a block grant from the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform to the pension fund. Some enterprises, however, pay out and record this expenditure in their accounts. To remunerate for this difference, wage costs (excluding employer’s National Insurance contributions) in the non-pension paying enterprises are adjusted upward by 15 per cent. This level corresponds approximately to the share of the direct-paying enterprises.

The data file from Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management contains revenues that are reimbursements for long-term sick leave and parental leave.

Enterprises may perform activities on behalf of each other. In certain cases, the seller may debit the buyer’s chapter directly for the activities that are carried out. The payment is nevertheless not debited the buyer’s account and hence not reported to the Agency for Financial Management. However, comparable purchases from other state enterprises are part of the buyers’ accounts. To attain a comparable picture of the enterprises in the StatRes population, Statistics Norway assigns the buying enterprises’ accounts an equivalent amount, compared to what other enterprises would have assigned the buyer’s chapter. These amounts are classified as purchase of goods and services in the input data for the buyer. As the input data for the enterprises are summarised and collocated to higher levels, the amounts that Statistics Norway has assigned to the enterprises are eliminated.

Finally, the estimated accounting figures are grouped, summarized and presented in accordance with the classifications that are described in section 4.1.

Input measured in contracted man-years:

Contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves, is estimated by Statistics Norway as the number of full-time jobs and part-time jobs calculated as full-time equivalents adjusted for doctor-certified sickness absence and parental leave. Man-years are estimated as a percentage of ordinary full-time jobs (37.5 hours per week). The estimation of man-years is based on the contracted working hours at a reference week (the third week of November in the statistics year) which is considered to be representative for the whole year. The register information on contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves will not be identical to the actual number of man-years worked, since the statistics does not capture overtime work, self-reported sickness absence, vacations, and other deviations from contracted man-years, except for parental leave and doctor-certified absence. For employees with more than one central government working relation in the reference week, contracted man-years adjusted for long-term leaves are estimated for each working relation and linked to each of the state enterprises where the persons are employed.

Other indicators:

See section 4.1.

Confidentiality

The fields of responsibility in the central government are to a large degree characterized by a single enterprise per division of service. It is difficult to shed light on this responsibility without exposing the actual government service. Statistics Norway has considered the confidentiality concerns, and found that the two conditions for exception in the Statistics Act § 2-6 are granted. The conditions are:

  1. The consideration of an appropriate structure of the statistics requires publications of a detailed level, including the risk of identification of a statistic unit without suppression.
  2. The publication with the risk of identification must not involve injuries (on physical or juridical person).

Consequently, confidentiality regarding central government enterprises is not taken into account in this statistics. Confidentiality is considered only on the subject of clients/users and employees.

This statistics does not cover graded information.

Comparability over time and space

StatRes &– Tax Administration was first published in 2010, including indicators from 2008 to 2009. Unless anything else is stated here, the indicators have generally good comparability from 2008. From the statistical year 2010, there has been a major shift to a new computer system for tax processing in the Tax Administration, which may affect comparability with previous years for some of the indicators. There has also been a change in the definitions of what accounting controls are, which may affect comparability over the years.

The man-year figures involve the Tax Administrations own employees. It may vary whether the enterprise choose to purchase their services, or to produce by their own employees. The accounting figures show both wage costs related to own employees and purchases of corresponding goods and services.

Accuracy and reliability

Sources of error and uncertainty

Input measured in NOK:

The Tax Administration keeps accounts according to regulations which include strict accounting controls. In addition, the accounts are audited by the Office of the Auditor General. Errors in accounting data are therefore considered to be negligible.

StatRes aims at measuring central government input in NOK. This is not straightforward, as central Government accounting is cash based, not accrual based. Some accounting transactions can thus be attributed to the wrong period, as seen from a resource use perspective. As a consequence of cash based accounting, the fiscal account units do not write off their costs of non-financial capital. Consequently, the costs of capital and imputed depreciation might be underestimated. The investments could be used as an input factor in the estimation of the depreciation. However, the level of investments would vary from each year, and hence deviate significantly from the costs of depreciation. This is nevertheless regarded as a minor problem for Tax Administration, as they largely rent their buildings. Their costs of non-financial capital will as a consequence appear indirectly, as rental costs under purchase of goods and services.

Processing errors may occur during the estimation of the figures at Statistics Norway. For instance, according to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund premiums, the same percentage mark-up is applied to all enterprises, while the pension commitments are in real life different between enterprises. The deviations from 15 per cent are though small, according to Statistics Norway’s calculations.

Input measured in contracted man-years:
The data quality concerning minor and sporadic employment will be poorer than for employees registered in the NAV State Register of Employers and Employees. For persons who are identified as employees on the basis of the End of the Year Certificate Register, the employment is not dated precisely. The half of these undated contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves, can however be dated based on information from other registers. For the remaining half, information about salary size is used as a criterion for defining whether the person is employed or not. Accordingly, there is some uncertainty about whether the persons included from the End of the Year Certificate Register actually were working in the enterprise at the time (the third week of November).

Other indicators:
The data for the other indicators are mainly collected from the Tax Administration (see 3.2). Control of this data is done by the Tax Administration. In addition, new annual data is also checked against previous years by Statistics Norway. The scope of measurement errors and processing errors in the registered data is unknown, but is not believed to introduce systematic errors in the results.

The statistics is based on complete enumeration from the registers of the Tax Administration and other public register sources. Non-response errors may nevertheless occur as a result of units wrongly being left out of registers. The scope of such errors in the data is not known.

Not relevant (complete enumeration).

There may be coverage errors in the statistics due to time gaps in registration or errors in the update of the register information used for some of the indicators. In addition, some data can be based on a time period that does not fully and completely coincides with the calendar year. Such errors are considered to have little significance.