Tax revenue grows by 2% in 2017

The accrual of taxes and compulsory social security contributions grew by 2.0 per cent in 2017, according to Statistics Finland.

The total accrual amounted to EUR 97.0 billion. The tax ratio fell from the previous year by 0.7 percentage points to 43.3 per cent.

The tax ratio describes the ratio of taxes and compulsory social security contributions to gross domestic product.

In 2017, the revenue from income tax paid by corporations grew particularly much compared to the previous year.

The revenue from income tax paid by corporations grew by 27.7 per cent and amounted to EUR 6.1 billion. The economic boom contributes to the growth of the revenue, but part of the growth is explained by exceptionally large supplementary prepayment of advance tax paid in spring 2017 and changes in the taxation practice, which increased the revenue from corporate tax at the end of the year.

Other social security contributions than employment pension (sickness insurance and unemployment insurance contributions) paid by employers fell most due to changes agreed in the Competitiveness Pact. The revenue from employers' employment pension contributions remained close to the level of 2016, but the revenue from other social security contributions fell by 26.8 per cent and was EUR 2.8 billion. The revenue from other social security contributions paid by the insured increased by 4.4 per cent and totalled EUR 3.0 billion. Similarly, the revenue from social security contributions paid by employers grew by 6.9 per cent and totalled EUR 6.4 billion.

The value added tax revenue grew by 3.6 per cent and was EUR 20.4 billion. The income tax paid by households rose by 0.6 per cent and totalled EUR 28.2 billion. In addition, the revenue from the vehicle tax, car tax and inheritance and gift tax, for example, grew in 2017.

The revenue from energy taxes decreased by 1.9 per cent and was EUR 4.3 billion. The revenue from the tobacco tax, alcohol tax and insurance premium tax, for example, fell slightly. The tax on sweets in force from 2011 to 2016 was discontinued. EUR 122 million collected as contributions to the Single Resolution Fund from credit institutions was recorded as tax revenue for the institutions of the European Union.

In 2017, the tax revenue of the central government totalled EUR 46.9 billion. The growth from the year before amounted to 3.6 per cent. The tax revenue of local government totalled EUR 22.8 billion and grew by 3.8 per cent from one year before. The revenue of compulsory social security contributions of social security funds decreased by 2.1 per cent and they totalled EUR 27.1 billion. The proportion of taxes and compulsory social security contributions in consolidated total general government revenue was 81.1 per cent in 2017.