Finland Times

 

The coalition government on Wednesday announced the budget planning in the parliament for the next fiscal aiming to adjust an amount of EUR 600 million.

Although the ruling parties leaders termed the budget as a financial solution and said that it would help to boom the job market, the lawmakers of the Perussuomalainen (True Finns) and Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party)  criticized the budget for reduction in corporate tax and cutting expenditure.

The Prime Minister, Jyrki Katainen at press conference after the budget plan announcement said that the government would adjust the financial solutions of about EUR 600 millions in which half of the money would be adjusted from spending cut while the rest amount from increase of the tax.

The budget, however, planned to subside to corporate tax at 20 percent from the existing  24.5 percent, he said.

The Premier specified that the government cut in the budget included the development cooperation, local government and state subsidies. He said that the dividend tax would be also changed eliminating the tax-free dividend.

Consumption taxes to be increased at  Alcohol, Tobacco, candy, sweet items and electricity in the budget.

Katainen expected that the government has already made this financial solutions, which is in the decision making stage now and the core feature of the budget is to boom the job market.

The Finance Minister, Jutta Urpilainen said that  the reform in the housing policy in this year budget would be the biggest ever housing reform.

The Finance minister said that the allocation will be increased for the apprenticeship and the Helsinki Children Hospital.

She, however, said that imposing extra tax on the Alcohol might entertain  the foreign beverages which would put an adverse impact in the export-import economy of the country.

Meanwhile, the opposition Perussuomalainen (True Finns) lawmaker Timo Soini strongly criticized the governments plan for cutting expenditure from the local government allocation and reduction of the corporate tax.

He said the corporate tax reduction meant that the corporation would get billions of  Euros tax exemption. 

Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party)  lawmaker Juha Sipilä also has criticized the government budget plan for reduction in the Corporate taxation.

The Chamber of Commerce leaders, however, welcome the  budget planning for the decision of reducing the taxation in the corporate sector and said that the government was going to a right direction through the tax reduction.