During his first state visit to Finland’s southern neighbour, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said he had come to know the Estonian corporate system on numerous business trips over the course of decades.
Sipilä said that Finnish business leaders have long yearned for a tax system like Estonia’s, where companies pay taxes only when they begin to distribute dividends.
“The government programme calls for a study of how Finland can take a step towards this kind of system. However Finland currently can’t afford to reduce corporate taxes,” Sipilä added.
Sipilä said he wasn’t keen on Estonia’s flat tax rate system, in which everyone pays 20 percent tax on their income.
“Progressive taxation will continue to be the best fit for Finland in the future as well,” the PM noted.
E-services moving forward
Estonia is widely acknowledged to be light years ahead of Finland in terms of the ability to conduct business online. Sipilä’s government action plan has pledged to advance a so-called X-Road project, which seeks to guarantee access to all government e-services with an identity card and a personal computer.
“This system will make things easier not just for businesses but also for ordinary citizens. Once the system is up and running we’ll be able to make a doctor’s appointment on the computer and parents will be able to apply for day care services for their children that way,” Sipilä explained.
The premier also promised that electronic signatures will also become commonplace in the next few years.
Shared views on quota refugees, Russia
Addressing the media following their meeting, the two prime ministers also used the occasion to stress that both countries have agreed on common positions on issues such as a refugee quota. Both countries oppose plans by the European Commission to resettle refugees arriving in Europe from the Mediterranean according to a quota system.
The leaders said they also shared similar views on Russian politics and the situation in Ukraine.