Tax revenue grows by 2.5% in 2019

The accrual of taxes and compulsory social security contributions grew by 2.5 per cent in 2019, according to the Statistics Finland.

The total accrual amounted to EUR 101.5 billion. The tax ratio fell from the previous year by 0.2 percentage points to 42.2 per cent. The tax ratio describes the ratio of taxes and compulsory social security contributions to gross domestic product.

The accrual of taxes and compulsory social security contributions was EUR 426 million greater than the figure available in March, mainly due to more precise social security contribution and value-added tax figures.

The value-added tax revenue grew by 2.9 per cent from the previous year and was EUR 22.0 billion.

The revenue from other taxes paid for goods and services, however decreased somewhat. The revenue grew in pharmacy fee (by 4.4 per cent) and the tax on soft drinks (16.9 per cent).

The revenue from tobacco tax and alcohol tax grew only slightly.

The revenue from central government's share of Oy Veikkaus Ab's profit fell by 0.9 per cent and amounted to EUR 1.1 billion. The revenue from energy taxes decreased by 2.3 per cent and the revenue for the year was EUR 4.3 billion. The revenue from vehicle and motorcycle tax, EUR 886 million, was 11.0 per cent lower than that in the previous year and that of user charge on passenger vehicles, EUR 1.2 billion, 3.7 per cent lower.

The income tax paid by households grew by 2.9 per cent and the revenue amounted to EUR 29.4 billion. The revenue from taxes on property rose by 3.8 per cent from the previous year. In 2019, the revenue from inheritance and gift tax was EUR 748 million or 8.1 per cent more than in 2018. The revenue from transfer tax was EUR 857 million, with an increase of 1.5 per cent from one year before.

EUR 216 million collected as contributions to the Single Resolution Fund from credit institutions was recorded as tax revenue for the institutions of the European Union. Contributions to the Deposit Guarantee Fund by deposit banks were for the first time treated as a tax and they amounted to EUR 56 million in 2019.

In 2019, the tax revenue of central government totalled EUR 49.7 billion. The growth from the corresponding figure in the year before amounted to 2.0 per cent. The tax revenue of local government totalled EUR 23.2 billion and it rose by 3.1 per cent year on year. The accruals of compulsory social security contributions paid to social security funds increased by 2.3 per cent and totalled EUR 28.3 billion. The proportion of taxes and statutory social security contributions in consolidated total general government income was 80.3 per cent in 2019.