Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson announced in his opening speech at the Progressive Party’s bi-annual congress on Friday that he expected the government to launch its plan to remove capital controls before the parliament’s summer recess. He said a proposed stability tax would generate hundreds of billions of krónur and would help make it possible to remove the controls.
However, the key individuals in the party have not seen the details of the tax, Kjarninn reported yesterday. Vigdís Hauksdóttir, MP for the Progressive Party and head of the parliament’s budget committee, confirmed that she had not yet seen the details.
Frosti Sigurjónsson, fellow Progressive Party MP and head of the economic affairs and trade committee, said he had also not seen the details of the plan.
Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, MP for the Independence Party, the Progressive Party’s ruling coalition partner, is among those to criticize both the plan itself and the fact that Sigmundur reportedly did not share the plan with them beforehand.
Sigmundur Davíð is to remain chair of the Progressive Party for the next two years after being reelected at the congress.
Sigmundur received 98.2 percent of the vote, visir.is reports.
Óskar Guðmundsson was the only contender for the party’s leadership.
