Business legislation

Suomen Yrittäjät wants to see legislation developed to better meet SMEs’ needs. We advocate for the practical application of the principles of good regulation.

The costs to businesses of regulation should be reduced by 25% from the current level by 2025.

Finland needs a “one for two” model: if a new regulation creates obligations for businesses to the cost of one euro, business regulation elsewhere should be reduced to lower the costs to business by two euros. An SME “litmus test” should be made part of the impact assessments for all national legislation and EU projects. This would mean assessing the impact of regulation options on SMEs in particular. If necessary, microbusinesses should fall outside regulation entirely.

The impact of EU regulation on businesses must be identified and resources must be increased to boost Finland’s official impact.EU regulation has a significant effect both on companies with operations entirely in Finland (over 50% of business regulations originate in EU law) and those who have expanded to elsewhere in the single market (around 25% of businesses take advantage of the single market).

Attention to the preparation and quality of national legislation is therefore not enough. Finland’s official EU advocacy is not professional or of consistent quality in all respects./ To remedy this, leadership is needed from the government, and the ministries’ skills and resources need to be increased or better targeted.

Micro-businesses must be relieved of the auditing obligation.Apart from Malta, every other EU country has higher auditing thresholds than Finland. If micro-businesses with fewer than ten employees were no longer obliged to conduct audits, the auditing obligation would concern around 30,000 businesses. Businesses which still consider audits necessary could continue to select auditors, even if not statutorily required to.

HAS PROGRESS ALREADY BEEN MADE HERE? CAN THESE GOALS BE REMOVED?

Maximum limits for collection charges for business receivables. The size of collection charges should be reasonable with regard to the size of the receivable. The legislation on recovery receivables should be amended permanently to place maximum limits on collection charges for business receivables, too. The legislative amendment would save businesses money and clarify their legal situation. Clear rules would also serve creditors’ right to due process.

Enabling fresh starts for business owners and removing barriers to doing business. Starting a business in Finland is generally quick and easy. If an entrepreneur has failed in previous business endeavours, or a successful business is temporarily insoluble or at risk of insolubility, Finnish legislation and systems place several boundaries on starting a new business or continuing profitable trading. Removing or lightening barriers would promote job retention and re-engagement of business owners, as well as reduce the costs to public spending. Barriers must be widely charted and removed.

Consumer law regulation must balance business owners’ interests.Legislation is being prepared both in the EU and Finland to protect consumer rights. The projects concern expanding authorities’ mandates, more stringent sanction systems, expansion of access to class actions, and harmonization of liability regulation. New regulations must exclude the smallest businesses from the consumer markets due to excessive red tape and costs.

Contracts between businesses must balance rights and obligations.A small business does not always have the room to negotiate with a larger contractual partner (such as a public body or a large company) on the content of a contract. This can lead to unreasonable conditions, such as on payment terms. Legislation should guarantee reasonable contractual terms for all parties.

Business scams must be brought under control. For this to happen, we need an overview of frauds committed against businesses and a reassessment of legislation. Scams and criminal fraud aimed at businesses have increased significantly in the 21st century, while other property crime has decreased. Two-thirds of single-person business owners have been the object of fraud at least once in the past year. Directory enquiry scams alone cost businesses €20 million annually.

Environmental legislation must enable profitable business, new investments and reasonably priced construction.We need fewer unnecessary licences and a switch from preventive oversight to retrospective oversight. Licences and zoning decisions must be granted in reasonable, predictable timeframes. Businesses need a one-stop-shop model for all the permits and solutions necessary for their projects.

Rationalization of regulation needs to continue. Unnecessary bureaucracy must be slashed. There should be statutory processing times for permit application processing by the authorities.

Misleading marketing and identity theft:Suomen Yrittäjät collaborates with the police and other supervisory authorities to increase our ability to combat improper activities.