Tax reform to support growth and employment in Finland

Christophe André and Hyunjeong Hwang
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Hyunjeong Hwang: OECD

No 1468, OECD Economics Department Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: Finland raises a large amount of taxes to finance high-quality public services and redistribute income. Public finances are currently relatively solid and taxes and transfers reduce income inequality significantly. However, a rapidly ageing population pushes up public spending, while globalisation creates challenges in raising revenue. Hence, ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability requires both containing spending through efficiency gains in the provision of public services and raising revenue in a way that minimises deadweight costs and distortions weighing on growth and employment. Reducing further the tax wedge on labour income would lift employment. More revenue could be raised through a reduction in the range of goods and services subject to reduced VAT rates, higher taxes on consumption that is harmful to the environment or health and higher property taxes. A competitive corporate taxation, combined with international cooperation to avoid base erosion and profit shifting, is needed to foster local production.

Keywords: corporate income tax; environmental taxation; Finland; personal income tax; subsidies; tax evasion; taxation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 H24 H25 H26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-05-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iue and nep-pbe
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1468-en

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