People shopping at the Tripla shopping center in Helsinki on March 14, 2024. LEHTIKUVA
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In light of potential tax increases, a majority of Finns have shown a preference for raising consumption taxes rather than income taxes, according to a recent Values and Attitudes survey conducted by the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA for spring 2024.
The study reveals that 57% of Finns are reluctant to pay more taxes than they currently do.
However, if tax increases are inevitable, 51% would opt for higher consumption taxes, contrasting sharply with the 28% who would prefer to increase income taxes. The remaining 21% expressed no opinion on the matter.
Political affiliations play a significant role in these preferences. A substantial majority of voters from conservative parties such as the National Coalition Party, The Movement Now, the Finns Party, and the Christian Democrats would prefer to increase consumption taxes in a financial bind. Center and left-wing party supporters tend to be more cautious, with left-leaning voters more inclined towards boosting income taxes.
Despite the challenging economic climate, only 28% of Finns are willing to pay more taxes personally. The reluctance to accept tax hikes has softened slightly since 2023, amid growing concerns over public finance stability.
“Expectations for tax relief have been dampened by the tight fiscal situation, yet a majority still resists higher taxes. Particularly, taxation on labor is already quite severe in Finland,” said Emmiliina Kujanpää, EVA’s lead tax expert.
Additionally, the survey explored attitudes towards various strategies to boost investments in Finland. Tax relief for new investments emerged as the most popular method, with two-thirds (67%) of respondents supporting this approach while only 19% opposed it.
“To accelerate economic growth, Finland needs to attract more investments. Currently, Finland imposes higher taxes on new investments compared to its competitors,” Kujanpää added.
This survey was conducted between March 13 and March 21, 2024, with 2,087 participants representing the demographic spread of Finland’s population aged 18-79 (excluding Åland Islands). The margin of error for the survey is approximately 2-3 percentage points. Data collection was handled online by Taloustutkimus Oy, with the sample being representative of the Finnish population by age, gender, region, education, occupation, industry, and political affiliation.
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
