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Suomen Yrittäjät: expectation of new economic course visible in election results
Mikael Pentikäinen, CEO and President of Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association, says the results of the parliamentary election show voters expect a new kind of economic policy.
Criticism of the government’s handling of the economy policy is reflected in the loss of 17 seats and a drop of almost 6% in votes by government parties.
“An expectation of a new economic course is evident in the victory of the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party. Voters want income and spending to be balanced and less public debt,” Pentikäinen says.
“The election result is a clear message about the desire for a change in economic policy. People now expect action to reinforce growth and jobs,” Pentikäinen says.
The Chairperson of Suomen Yrittäjät, Petri Salminen, in an interview with the business daily Kauppalehti, also highlighted the state of the economy.
“When the public finances are on a firm foundation, Finland can decide for itself what it spends money on. At present, we are spending three times more on interest than on the policing budget. For businesses, healthy public finances are significant because they provide predictability. When the state is rapidly taking on more debt, business owners are bound to think: how much taxes will rise in coming years?” Salminen told the newspaper.
There are other Nordic countries we can compare ourselves to which are able to run a surplus while taxing less than Finland. We should be able to do the same,” Salminen said in the interview.
No to higher tax on businesses
For business owners, the most important campaign theme was taxation. The expectation is that taxation of businesses and their owners will be stable and predictable during this Parliament.
“The National Coalition Party and the Finns Party pledged they would not raise business and entrepreneur taxation. Our association expects them to keep that promise,” Pentikäinen says.
“We hope to see a coalition that will reform the Finnish labour market and through that strengthen economic growth. The election results make that possible.
“The favourites of Suomen Yrittäjät this time around, the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party, won. That is why we can assume that our association’s agenda stands a chance,” Pentikäinen adds.
Grave situation for Finland
Suomen Yrittäjät points out that Finland is in a grave situation.
“There is a war going on in Europe, the Finnish economy is becoming rapidly more indebted, there is weak economic growth and hundreds of thousands of people here are not in employment,” Pentikäinen says.
Pentikäinen says that a change is now needed, and there is an expectation that the next government will take purposeful action to bolster growth and balance public finances.
“It must be remembered that Finland’s growth is the sum of Finnish businesses’ growth. That is why we should make strong efforts so entrepreneurs and owners dare to invest, hire and grow their companies. Above all, that requires a predictable tax system,” Pentikäinen says.
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