in finlandThe introduction of a 15% minimum tax rate on large companies is expected to increase corporate tax revenues by around 10%, Helsingin Sanomat reports.
On Monday, the OECD released a study predicting that the introduction would reduce the gap between corporate tax rates by about 30 percentage points, halving the amount of corporate profits transferred to countries with lower corporate tax rates.
As a result, corporate tax revenues will increase by 6-8% globally, amounting to an additional EUR 142-175 billion.
The minimum tax rate primarily applies to conglomerates with annual revenues of more than 750 million euros. Most jurisdictions plan to introduce minimum tax rates by introducing additional national taxes.
In Finland, the reform will apply to around 50 to 60 companies, including up to 20 companies operating exclusively in the country, and will increase annual corporate tax revenues by around 700 million euros to 7.7 billion euros.
Anita IsomerThe head of taxation at the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK) told Helsingin Sanomat on Monday that the OECD had initially aimed to impose minimum tax only on conglomerates engaged in global trade, but the scope of application has been expanded through legal changes. It reminded me of what happened. The EU introduced minimum corporate tax rules on January 1st.
“The minimum tax rate is a success story for international taxation. That was already clear last summer. The OECD estimated last July that almost 90 per cent of large companies will be subject to tax by 2025,” she said. I commented on the newspaper.
Isomaa said he was not aware of any Finnish companies that opposed the minimum tax rate, but the administrative burden and costs imposed by the reform were causing concern within companies.
“Businesses aren’t worried about paying taxes or issues related to taxes, they’re worried about the unprecedented breadth and complexity of this system,” she said.
Finnish companies will have to file their first report under the minimum corporate tax rules in 2026. Some businesses remain concerned about whether they can enforce complex regimes in a way that they can safely assume they are operating within the rules.
“We look forward to ensuring conflict resolution, prevention and legal certainty,” she said.
Since the Finnish Tax Administration is not yet able to provide advance rulings on practices related to minimum tax rates, companies hope that the administration has sufficient resources to provide advice and counseling.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT