Starting in early 2026, customers of one of Finland's largest banks, OP Financial Group (OP), will have to pay capital gains tax on bonuses earned from banking services if those bonuses are used to pay for insurance.
During its budget negotiations earlier this week, the government made this proposal which would impact two million of the bank's "owner customers" who receive its tax-free bonuses, according to a report by business daily Kauppalehti.
Typically, OP bonuses are accrued from banking services such as mortgages and investments. For instance, a 100,000 euro mortgage could earn a 350 euro bonus, which could be used to pay for insurance from OP's insurance company.
The government's proposed legislation follows a 2021 initiative from the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) to the Ministry of Finance. The FCCA argues that OP's system of allowing customers to buy insurance using bonuses gives it a tax advantage that distorts competition and harms the insurance sector's competitiveness.
In response, OP Group's CEO, Timo Ritakallio, suggested that increasing the bonuses by about 30 percent could offset the impact.
"Increasing the bonuses is one option. This would compensate in a way that preserves the net benefits for owner-customers. It would mean higher costs, but it looks like we have the possibility to do it," said Ritakallio.
Ritakallio estimates that about one-third of the bonuses are used for insurance payments. In 2023, a total of 275 million euros in bonuses was distributed, with more than 100 million euros going toward insurance.
The capital gains tax rate is 30 percent on amounts up to 30,000 euros and 34 percent on amounts exceeding 30,000 euros.
According to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s NCP-led government programme, reforming tax practices for financial sector bonuses would bring 30 million euros in extra revenue to the state.
Under the government plan, bonuses would remain tax-free if used for the services from which they were earned. For instance, bonuses from banking services could still be used for service fees or loan interest payments without being taxed.
Airport chaos continues
Many passengers missed their flights on Wednesday due to security line congestion at Helsinki Airport caused by the re-enforcement of liquid limits this week. As of early September, an EU regulation requires liquids in carry-on baggage to be in containers of 100 millilitres or less.
According to a Helsingin Sanomat report, passengers on Wednesday faced waits of up to several hours at the security checks at Helsinki Airport. Additionally, many security checkpoints were closed during peak times.
Several dozen Finnair customers did not make it to their flights on time, according to the company's communications director, Päivyt Tallqvist.
She said that the standard policy is for passengers to lose their tickets if they are late due to security line delays. In this exceptional situation, Finnair has, on a case-by-case basis, rerouted passengers to the next available flights for an additional fee if possible, Tallqvist said.
The worst congestion has been between 6–8am and 3–6pm.
According to Tallqvist, Finnair has sent messages to customers about potential lines and reminded them of changes to liquid rules.
Hanna Hämäläinen, head of passenger services at Finavia, said that the situation has been addressed by increasing the number of security personnel. However, she expects the congestion to continue until the end of September.
Meteorologist: "These are not just numbers"
September's sunny beach weather is not exactly a cause for celebration. A leading expert at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) warns that this month's high temperatures signal broader climate problems, according to a report by tabloid Iltalehti.
In Finland, August was one of the warmest on record for average temperatures and Northern Finland saw its warmest August ever at many observation stations.
According to the FMI, the past 12 months have been the warmest 12-month period globally on record, and August tied for the hottest month worldwide.
"Over the past year, many temperature records have been broken, but these are not just numbers. High temperatures have a direct impact on human and environmental well-being through heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires," said Hannele Korhonen, Head of the Climate Services at FMI.
Korhonen adds that the negative effects of climate change are expected to increase in coming decades due to insufficient reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.
"While variability in Finnish weather conditions from year to year is typical, it is clear that global warming is a key factor behind the observed temperature records. A similar meteorological summer 70 years ago would have been significantly cooler than this summer," Korhonen said.
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