Finland has calculated the fiscal impact of immigration.
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Working-age people of foreign background have paid more in income taxes than they received in public transfers, Helsingin Sanomat reports on Wednesday. Image: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva
A study by Finland’s VATT Institute for Economic Research finds that, in 2023, working-age people of foreign background paid more in income taxes than they received in public transfers.
Matti Sarvimäki, a leading researcher, says that when only direct transfers are considered, the overall fiscal impact of immigration is currently close to neutral.
Those on work-based residence permits made the strongest contribution. Helsingin Sanomat reports that their position was more favourable even than that of comparable native Finns. On the other hand, those arriving on humanitarian or family unification grounds recorded clearly negative balances.
At the same time, Sarvimäki said the study’s figures are partial. On the revenue side, they exclude indirect taxes such as value-added tax, while on the expenditure side, they omit the costs of public services.
Europe’s moment of truth
Former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is leading a European initiative (CEPS) to figure out how the continent could defend itself without the United States.
He told Hufvudstadsbladet that Finland has been among those willing to deepen European defence cooperation.
A ‘coalition of the willing’ has already taken shape to support Ukraine. To that end, European security rests less on the formal structures of the EU than on a broader, continent-wide political will.
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Former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. File photo. Image: Mikko Koski / Yle
What is lacking, he argues, is direction. Leadership, he told HBL, is now Europe’s most pressing need.
“Europe faces its moment of truth,” he said.
Chinese airlines eroding Finnair
Finnair’s competitive edge is being eroded as Chinese carriers expand into the Finnish market, reports Talouselämä.
One such airline already operates flights between Helsinki and China, with another set to enter next week.
Both newcomers enjoy a structural advantage over the state-owned Finnish carrier.
Unlike most Western airlines, Chinese carriers can still fly over Russian airspace without being subject to sanctions, giving them a clear advantage on routes between Europe and China, the business magazine explains.