History of Norway company by 1985, just to go bankrupt by 1993. Unemployment reached record-high levels in the early 1990s. By 1990 Norway was Europe's largest oil producer and by 1995 it was the world's second-largest oil exporter. Membership in the European Union was rejected in a 1994 referendum, with Norway instead joining the European Economic Area and later also the Schengen Area. Large public investments in the 1990s were a new National Hospital and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen—connected to the capital with Norway's first high-speed railway, the Gardermoen Line. A number of large government companies, such as Statoil, Telenor and Kongsberg were privatized.
Taxation in Norway to capital income (income shifting). In the 2006 tax reform, the income shifting problem was solved by reducing the top marginal tax rate on labour income and introducing a dividend and capital gains tax on return above the normal return of the capital invested (shareholder model). Company shareholders were exempt from dividend and capital gains tax (exemption method), whilst proprietorships and partnerships were taxed at similar principles as the shareholder model. Taxation in Norway Taxation in Norway is levied by the central government, the county municipality ("fylkeskommune") and the municipality ("kommune"). In 2012 the total tax revenue was 42.2% of