Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday 

Tax authorities admit giving politicians wrong advice on commuter housing 

The Prime Ministers office allowed politicians to avoid being taxed on commuter homes when renting out their own property due to incorrect guidance from the Norwegian Tax Administration. 

The tax authority has apologised for issuing the incorrect guidance and has insisted that politicians who rent out their own homes while receiving commuter housing must be taxed on the commuter home. 

"The Tax Administration's guidance has, on the whole, been clear, but we see that in our letter to SMK (the PM's office) in November 2020, we, unfortunately, gave incorrect guidance on the question of whether a commuter can rent out parts of his own housing unit at home and at the same time get tax-free commuter housing," Lene Marie Ringså told regional newspaper Adressavisen. 

Politicians use of the commuter housing scheme has been under immense scrutiny since September over claims that MP's have grossly misused the scheme. 

Oslo named the costliest city to rent

Oslo is the most expensive city in Norway to rent a 2-bedroom property in Oslo, according to Statistics Norway's rental market survey for 2021. 

A two-bedroom property in Oslo and Bærum cots on average 12,310 in rent per month. This is 29 percent higher than the national average price for a property of the same size- 

Bergen and Trondheim, the average price for a 2-room home was NOK 9,510 and NOK 9,780 in 2021, respectively.

There were significant differences not just between cities but also between parts of each city. For example, a two-room dwelling in Frogner, Ullern, Sentrum and St. Hanshaugen would be around 1,500 kroner a month more expensive in rent than a place in Søndre Nordstrand, Grorud, Stovner and Alna. 

Kristiansand and Stavanger were the cheapest cities to rent in Norway. 

The Crown Prince's family to participate in video game Christmas event

Norway's royals have agreed to be avatars during a Christmas celebration in the computer game Minecraft. 

It will be the second time that the Crown Prince has appeared as an avatar during a celebration event. They participated in a May 17th celebration, which 37,000 people attended last year. 

"During the celebration on Christmas Eve, the Crown Prince's family will be represented in the game with Minecraft avatars. During the day, they will give a speech, welcome, and wish everyone who has a Merry Christmas," The organisers wrote in a press release. 

The Crown Prince's speech was written in advance and will be delivered via the in-game chat function.

4,290 new Covid-19 cases in Norway. 

On Wednesday, 4,920 new Covid-19 cases were registered in Norway. That is 1,451 infections fewer than the same day a week before. In addition, 316 patients were hospitalised with Covid-19, 21 fewer than the day before. 

Pictured is the total number of weekly Covid-19 cases in Norway throughout the pandemic. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.