News - 30.09.2026

Minister of Finance Against the People

VR, LÍV and Fagfélögin strongly object to the arguments put forward by Minister of Finance Daði Már Kristófersson in an interview with Vísir. There, the Minister describes criticism of the Government’s tax and fee increases as a demand for “short-term gains” at the expense of society’s long-term interests.

This argument is difficult to reconcile with the situation facing wage earners. In recent years, households across the country have struggled with high inflation, high interest rates and rapidly rising housing costs. At the same time, most wage earners have received pay increases that have failed to keep pace with inflation.

The Minister of Finance himself acknowledges that the moderate collective agreements of 2024 have not delivered the reduction in inflation that was intended. Despite this, the Government plans to increase government fees by 5.2%, far above the Central Bank’s 2.5% inflation target, and the Minister says that such increases are intended, among other things, to help cool the economy.

In other words: the authorities are calling for restraint while raising taxes and fees themselves. They are taking additional revenue from the public’s pockets and thereby contributing to inflation, while businesses are left untouched. The latest inflation figures show in black and white that the prices of goods have risen despite the rapid appreciation of the króna, contrary to what might reasonably be expected. The Minister of Finance’s decision to raise VAT on fuel again plays a significant part in this.

VR, LÍV and Fagfélögin have not called for short-term gains. On the contrary, the aim has been to create the conditions necessary for long-term collective agreements to remain sustainable. Portraying this demand as the pursuit of special interests is unfair. Wage earners are simply asking for their purchasing power to be protected and for the authorities to uphold their part of the social agreement on which the collective agreements were based.

The Minister also says that the solution to inflation will “always be a little painful” and that if any country should be able to withstand such pain, it is Iceland. But it is not “Iceland” that pays the bill. It is people. It is households that pay higher interest rates, higher taxes and higher fees. It is wage earners, Icelandic households, who are watching their purchasing power erode.

It is unacceptable for the Minister of Finance to speak in this way about the situation of people who have for years borne the heavy burden of inflation and high interest rates, while the Government itself adds to those burdens. The Minister of Finance should safeguard the public interest, not work against the people.

VR, LÍV and Fagfélögin demand that the Government demonstrate through its actions that it intends to stand with the country’s households and do its part to ensure that the premises underlying the collective agreements remain valid. This will not be achieved by increasing taxes and charges and then accusing those who object of putting their own short-term interests ahead of the interests of society.

Resolution from VR, LÍV and Fagfélögin, 30 September 2026