Finland’s Prime Minister Alexander Stubb announced his own picks for the coming government’s tax cuts this morning on TV1’s morning politics show. Stubb outlined five specific targets for spending cuts.
1. Benefits freeze
”When we invest in extremely moderate wage policy, it also means that we cannot raise benefits during the next parliamentary term,” Stubb said.
2. Earnings-related unemployment benefit cull
”Perhaps we should consider shortening unemployment benefits, and getting people into working life earlier,” Stubb said.
3. Development cooperation pull-back
”If we make cuts in our own society, that means we would do well to cut back on international development funding,” Stubb said, while pointing out that savings in this area would push Finland further away from its goal to raise development cooperation to 0.7 percent of the GNP.
4. Government streamlining
IT services and other similar services should, in Stubb’s opinion, be the responsibility of the office of the Council of State.
5. Ministers, ministries and political funding
Stubb says that cuts to ministries and political actvities in general should be a top priority, as it would give politicians the chance to lead by example.
”I think that ministers’ wages should be cut,” Stubb said.
The Prime Minister underlined that after these savings measures, Finland can be resuscitated by focusing on working life. The National Coalition Party will present its own ten-point working list tomorrow Sunday.