Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Party, attended a plenary session in parliament in Helsinki on Tuesday, 16 April 2024. Lindtman on Wednesday presented the opposition party’s plan for reducing the national debt burden on YLE A-studio. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
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THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY has presented a 2.5-billion-euro fiscal adjustment package as an alternative to the spending cuts and tax hikes announced by the government on Tuesday.
Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democrats, admitted on YLE A-studio on Wednesday that Finland has to take action to reduce its debt burden.
He argued that the government should have taken a harder look at revenue .
Annika Saarikko, the chairperson of the Centre, on Tuesday said the government seems intent on continuing to complicate the lives of families with children and erode child welfare, elderly care and health care services in many parts of Finland.
“Health care costs will increase, not decrease, as a result of this,” she wrote in a press release from the Centre.
The fiscal adjustment package unveiled by the government is characterised by inequality and lack of a long-term vision for a healthy economy, estimated Sofia Virta, the chairperson of the Green League. Atte Harjanne, the chairperson of the Green Parliamentary Group, viewed in turn that raising the general value-added tax rate to 25.5 per cent is in principle a sound measure to increase tax revenue.
“Raising it brusquely to one of the highest levels in Europe at a time when low-income people are already facing substantial cuts will spell trouble for the daily lives of many. A VAT of 25.5 per cent suggests the government didn’t have the courage to [levy] Pigouvian taxes and trim subsidies,” Harjanne wrote on X.
The package trashed out at the framework session sends “a catastrophic message” to low-income earners, people with sicknesses, students and small entrepreneurs, commented Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance.
Harry Harkimo of Movement Now, in turn, slammed the package for failing to spur economic growth.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
