Officials at Finland’s Ministry of Finance on Monday released their assessment of alternatives for balancing public finances. The list includes raising the value-added tax on food and moderating index-based increases in earnings-related pensions and other benefits.
Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko (Centre) on Wednesday floated the idea of reinstating the tax deduction for interest rate costs as a means to help households cope with rising interest rates. The deduction had been abolished at the beginning of the year after years of gradual phasing out.
STT on Wednesday wrote that the government has yet to narrow down on the value of the funding package devised to reduce the backlog in social and health care services, with the figures floated in discussions between ministerial aides ranging from 200–700 million euros, according to sources of the Finnish news agency.
With Euribor 12, the most common reference rate for housing loans in Finland, expected to hit four per cent by mid-2023, the Bank of Finland has reiterated its concern about household indebtedness.
The government is proposing in its budget for next year that the value-added tax on electricity be slashed from 24 to 10 per cent for the period between 1 December 2022 and 30 April 2023.