A change in the rules on municipal residency in Finland could drastically change the fortunes of some communities, according to a new study published on Thursday by the University of Jyväskylä.
An Yle poll earlier this month found a majority of MPs back changing the law to permit multiple municipal residency, meaning people would have the right to live and pay taxes in more than one locality.
South Savo would be the biggest beneficiary of the change, seeing a 30–70 million euros annual boost to tax income, the report said.
Central Finland and Lapland would also be net beneficiaries, with tax incomes rising by 10–30 million euros.
By contrast, Uusimaa would see a significant loss of between 100 million and 250 million euros a year.
The impact on regions in western Finland would be much smaller, the report said.
In all, changing to a system of multiple residency would boost municipal tax incomes by up to 15 percent in South Savo, with other net beneficiaries seeing a smaller annual increase of under five percent.
Over half of summer cottages are in the owner's home province.
According to a recent study, multiple residency could help even out the differences in tax revenue between the provinces, particularly in the case of Uusimaa and the rest of Finland. However, to change the rules would mean amending the constitution.
The government has said it intends to evaluate the options for promoting multiple residency.
The impact of multiple municipal residency could also be felt within provinces, as over half of summer cottages are found within their owner's home province.
The study also examined the current impact of summer cottage visitors in Finnish provinces.
South Savo again came top, with people not resident in the region paying 4.6 million euros a year in property taxes on summer cottages.
The study further found the summer cottage industry was biggest in South Savo, with cottage owners creating demand for an estimated 3,200 jobs.
Sales of Finnish holiday homes hit a 30-year high last year as the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to most international travel.