The results of the Finnish government's budget negotiations did not contain major surprises. One sticking point remains the removal of the tax deduction for union membership fees, which effectively acts as a tax increase.
“In my view, this goes against the government’s main policy line aimed at easing taxation. The proposal also contradicts the principles of a good tax system. Membership fees are expenses related to earning income and should not be unfairly disadvantaged compared to other income-related expenses,” says TEK’s CEO Jari Jokinen.
The government decided to uphold the jointly agreed RDI target, which states that the state’s share of RDI spending should be 1.2 percent of GDP by 2030. However, the funding law is being updated now to reflect the weakened economic forecast, even though the law stipulates that this should only happen in 2028.
“This is unfortunate for RDI funding, as the decision means that funding will grow over €100 million less than previously agreed during 2026 and 2027,” says Jokinen.
“It is now extremely important to boost people’s and companies’ confidence in growth and productivity. Only through these can we take care of our children, the elderly, and our healthcare system. Any cuts to RDI activities go against this goal,” emphasizes TEK’s Director of Public Affairs Juhani Nokela.
The government also decided to improve opportunities for the unemployed to develop their skills. The Unemployment Security Act (Työttömyysturvalaki) will be amended so that individuals over the age of 25 can study at open universities and universities of applied sciences without losing their unemployment benefits. At the end of July, there were over 320,000 unemployed people, of whom more than 63,000 had higher education degrees (source: Akava Works, in Finnish).
“TEK has long aimed to make studying while on unemployment benefits easier, so this is definitely positive news. Especially in the current employment situation, this is a much-needed gesture of support for the unemployed,” says Nokela.