(Trander-Avisa) Debt counselor Drikwe Rossebo believes it is sad and ironic that the public sector can create new debt victims.
– Most people with high debt challenges think that prioritizing money for food and electricity is the most important thing, but what helps shift the burden is actually unpaid municipal taxes like the sweeping tax, says Trigwe Rossebo. Competence center for credit counseling at Nav Trøndelag.
Norges Bank’s key interest rate has risen by 1.5 percentage points so far this year – and when it is expected to rise further in December, he points to a familiar pitfall.
– Credit doesn’t sleep, it works 365 days a year – and a big fee, he adds.
Read on
Analysis: Banks profit hugely from interest rate break – consumers miss out on about 700 million
read more:
Unpaid on fast track
Rossebø explains the connection and the example he uses is the sweeping fee – which is now NOK 390 in the municipality of Steinkjer.
- A celebration fee is a fee you pay to your home municipality. The idea is that you pay for a service that your home municipality performs for you. Sweeping fee is charged once a year.
- Sweeping is often done through an inter-municipal agency and comes as a separate invoice.
- If you don’t pay the invoice within the deadline (deadline date), the process of collecting the amount will start one month after the claim is pending. It depends on what procedures the individual company has in place.
The celebration fee is classified as a legal lien by law (Mortgage Act § 6.1). This means that the municipality is guaranteed the right to pursue unpaid bills on the “fast track” – before other outstanding debts.
Rosbey believes it is important to show those struggling to pay their bills that it is wise to prioritize the deadlines for paying municipal taxes.
– It’s easy to think that there is no urgency with a municipal invoice of NOK 300 or 400, but our experience is that collections take place quickly – and the amounts can become very large when court fees start running – for example, if it goes up to a petition for forced sale, says Rosbe.
Read on
Ina has reached the threshold of pain: – with her heart in her throat she sits for a while
read more:
Big contradiction
– There are many examples of a sweep tax that overturns the burden – so houses are sold for forced sale?
– Yes, unfortunately. He says we have cases where an unpaid sweeping fee grows into a loan amount of NOK 10,000.
In such cases, the sweeping fee comes on top of the family’s already huge debt burden due to legal mortgages, which can be over quickly, he clarifies. stimulus Compulsory sale.
– He says that it is not the unpaid invoice of NOK 350 that shifts the burden, but because it is covered by a legal lien, it triggers a forced sale.
– Can a municipality – as it exists today – thus contribute to creating more debt victims?
– Yes, this is a big contradiction. It’s sad that in some cases the municipality can contribute to victimizing its own residents in debt, he says – but quickly adds:
– At the same time, if a sufficient number of residents do not pay the sweeping fee, the overall amount can be large. It is therefore important that people pay for services provided by their home municipality. As citizens, covering up as much as we can, whether it’s the municipality or other lenders, helps maintain community morale to pay, says Drikwe Rossebo.
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
