Tax payments are a matter of public record in Finland, and the Finnish Tax Administration publishes a list of the top earners every year.
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Wolt co-founder Mikko “Miki” Kuusi is Finland’s top tax payer once again. Image: Petteri Bülow / Yle
In what has become an annual tradition in Finland known as “tax day” or “envy day”, the Tax Administration published on Wednesday morning a list containing tax information for everyone in the country who earned over 120,000 euros in taxable income last year.
The chart for 2024 shows that Mikko “Miki” Kuusi, the co-founder of delivery firm Wolt, is Finland’s highest earner and number one taxpayer for the third year in a row, having also topped the charts for the tax years of 2023 and 2022.
Here are Finland’s top five highest earners in 2024:
Miki Kuusi. Income: 80.6 million euros. Kuusi is a co-founder and remains chair of the board of Wolt, which was sold to US firm DoorDash in 2021. He also serves as CEO of Deliveroo, a UK-based delivery company recently acquired by Wolt’s parent company DoorDash. Kuusi’s 2024 income mainly comes from the stock incentive programme agreed as part of the DoorDash-Wolt deal.Heikki Herlin. Income: 39.3 million euros. Herlin is owner of the Finnish logistics firm Cargotec, as well as being chair of the board of investment company Marietorp and a board member of Alma Media. He is the son of the late Niklas Herlin, a well-known investor.Matti Kalervo Häll. Income: 30.8 million euros. Häll is the founder of the software company Admicom, which has performed well on the stock exchange. He sold his stake in the firm last year.Leif Niklas Sonkin. Income: 26.8 million euros. Sonkin is the CEO of financial administration firm Accountor Holding, which was sold in the summer of 2024 in two parts to buyers in Sweden and the US. The company’s shareholding was reportedly worth over 1.2 billion euros.Rob Blauwgeers. Income: 26.4 million euros. Blauwgeersv is the CEO and co-founder of Bluefors, a technology company manufacturing cooling systems for quantum computers.Why Yle publishes tax data
There is a long and well-established tradition of tax disclosure in Finland, and many Finns consider it an integral part of the country’s open society.
However, while this tends to be the prevailing opinion, a survey carried out last year by business lobby Eva found that more than half of respondents thought the tax disclosures are nothing more than a pointless media circus.
Why does Yle publish tax information, then?
According to the head of the public broadcaster’s Politics and Economics desk, Kristiina Tolvanen, there are three key reasons.
The first is that Yle wants to facilitate discussion in Finnish society based on factual information. The tax data enables the consideration of topics such as the fairness of the taxation system, its effects, as well as the country’s economic and tax policies.
The second reason is broadcasters’, and the wider media’s, role as a public watchdog. Publishing tax data keeps the public aware of which companies, groups and individuals are accumulating wealth in Finnish society, and by what means. It is also possible, based on the data, to assess how the tax burden is distributed across society.
The third reason for publishing tax data, Tolvanen writes, is that the transparency of such information helps to increase people’s trust in the functioning of society. The fair collection and payment of taxes, as well as the transparent use of tax money, are the foundation of the Finnish welfare society.