The Finnish state is short of cash, and needs to increase income to plug gaps in the budget. To do that, it is planning to increase the level of fines paid by wrongdoers.
From September fixed penalty fines levied on-the-spot for small offences will double, while the budget proposal from the Finance Ministry contains a three-fold increase. Income-related ‘day fines’ levied for more serious offences could also be doubled at a later date.
The starting point is to help the government meet spending commitments, but that is not how fines should be levied, according to Professor of Criminal Law Sakari Melander from Helsinki University.
"Fine increases just to pad out the state’s income cannot be considered acceptable," said Melander.
Melander says there is room for a small increase in fixed penalty fines, as they have not been evaluated since 1999. But a two- or three-fold increase is well above that level.
Day fines problematic
"Fines are levied as a punishment, and the size of those fines should primarily be determined by judicial considerations, not the state finances," said Melander.
Day fines are even more problematic, according to Melander. The Finnish system includes provision for miscreants to pay a certain number of ‘day fines’, with the level of the day fine determined by the offender’s income in the last tax year.
Melander says that increasing those fines is difficult because they are currently one-sixth of an offender’s daily income. The minimum fine is six euros.
"Nearly half of all fines are set at the minimum level," explained Melander. "An increase would target those with the lowest incomes of all. I suspect this would become a concrete problem for those on low incomes."
Melander suggests that the government should abandon plans to double fines and start the project again from a juridical perspective.
"Day fines should be, according to the guidelines, be set at a moderate level according to the offender’s ability to pay. This change would have a significant impact on that."