Anyone can fill out the Finnish Tax Authority’s tax evasion report form if they suspect that a person or a business is non-compliant in paying their taxes. Examples include a seller who does not offer receipts to customers or the dishonest non-reporting of wages, rental income or other income.
The practice of anonymous whistleblowing has raised criticism in social media. Thousands of Finns have shared a Facebook post suggesting that anonymity has the potential to be misused as whistleblowers could use the reporting form just to make others' life difficult. The Facebook write-up demands that at least identification through online bank codes - a common practice in Finland - should be required.
Tax officials are hoping for the same thing.
“We also wanted a feature on the form that requires identification authentication, but it wasn’t technically possible,” says the Tax Authority’s Audit Manager Heimo Säkkinen.
"In the future there may be such a feature when we update our online system," says Säkkinen, adding that, "we did not simply want a name without identification authentication, because people can easily provide a false name with a tip-off."
Whistle-blowing often linked to disagreements
The Tax Administration has received many tip-offs as a result of the form. However, less than one percent have been hints with the apparent intention to harass or inconvenience people, according to Säkkinen.
“We check the information in these forms very carefully and compare it to our own information. For example, recently we had a situation where included with the tip-off was a receipt for a restaurant that showed a business identification number – however, according to our information the restaurant was no longer in business,” says Säkkinen.
He adds that the majority of ill-intentioned tip-offs are linked to divorces or disagreements. "Neighbours don’t catch each other out,” says Säkkinen.
Comments on social media have raised concerns that anonymous tip-offs can cause unnecessary work for the accused, who must prove their innocence.
“The tax man does the work, not the person or business that is mentioned in the tip-off. We only get in touch if it seems that the tip-off has some substance,” says Säkkinen.