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45,000 Danish summer house owners could get cheaper electricity bills

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
45,000 Danish summer house owners could get cheaper electricity bills
Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Around 45,000 owners of summer houses in Denmark could see their electricity bills reduced by a proposal to reduce taxes in this year’s budget.

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The proposal could see average savings of 5,000 kroner annually for summer house owners, depending on the size and electricity consumption of individual properties.

Denmark is set to present its proposed 2019 budget in full on Thursday.

“The proposal partly promotes conversion to green energy, because it will result in more green electricity being used. It will also make it more attractive to own a summer house,” tax minister Karsten Lauritzen told TV2.

“We are currently not competitive on the summer house market during the winter months in terms of what you can earn in rent compared to the price of electricity,” Lauritzen said.

The government’s proposal provides funding of 200 million kroner to give equality between summer houses and year-round homes in terms of electric-powered heating.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce said it welcomed the proposal.

“The Danish Chamber of Commerce has long pointed out the potential for growth in the market for rental of holiday homes, in particular outside of peak season,” the organisation’s CEO Brian Mikkelsen, a former minister for business affairs, said in a press statement.

Tourists would be less likely to be put off by hefty electricity charges as a result of the proposed change, Mikkelsen said.

“That’s why we are very pleased that electrically-heated holiday homes, like year-round homes, will now be encompassed by the lower electricity taxes,” he said.

“Denmark’s tourism sector will benefit greatly from this equality between permanent and holiday homes,” he added, noting also that the move could contribute to a “longer tourism season, where there are guests and life along the coasts outside of the summer months”.

READ ALSO: Summer heat sets tourism records: DI

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