Direct taxes grow 2.4% in 2018

Income earners paid EUR 30.7 billion in direct taxes in 2018, which was in nominal terms 2.4 per cent more than that in the year before, according to the Statistics Finland.

They paid EUR 19.0 billion in municipal taxes, EUR 5.5 billion in state taxes on earned income, EUR 3.0 billion in taxes on capital income, and EUR 492 million in public service broadcasting tax.

The amount of municipal taxes grew from the previous year by 2.5 per cent, income tax by 0.4 per cent, taxes on capital income by 6.2 per cent, and public service broadcasting tax by 0.5 per cent.

Municipal taxes were paid by 3.9 million persons, taxes on earned income and capital income by 1.4 million, and public service broadcasting tax by 3.4 million persons.

Direct taxes had increased by 44 per cent in real terms from that in 1993 to 2018. Over the same period, the amount of municipal taxes has grown by 78 per cent and its share of direct taxes has increased from 50 per cent to 62. In real terms, income earners paid 15 per cent less taxes on earned income than in 1993 and that share of taxes decreased over the period from 31 per cent to 18. The share of capital tax in taxes has varied between close on three per cent to 10. In 2018, it was 9.8 per cent.

Taxable income received by income earners totalled EUR 143.7 billion in 2018, which was 3.2 per cent more than that in the previous year. Of the taxable income, EUR 132.9 billion was earned income and EUR 10.7 billion capital income. Earned income grew by 2.9 per cent and capital income by 6.4 per cent from the corresponding figures in the previous year.