Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) suggests that Finland has a remarkably high vehicle tax rate compared to other European countries.
According to a report by Ilta-Sanomat, the country collected approximately EUR 7.9 billion in road taxes in 2019. When compared to the total number of vehicles, this amounts to around 2,523 euros per vehicle, including passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses.
Finland subsequently has the third highest road tax rate per car in the EU, surpassed only by Belgium (3,187 euros per car) and Austria (2,678 euros per car).
Road tax in Finland is a staggering 60 per cent higher than neighbouring Sweden, where the rate is 1,561 per car. In Sweden, vehicle owners are not required to pay a separate car tax. Finland however, imposes an additional charge on passenger cars, in addition to vehicle and road tax, and in some cases an extra charge on driving power.
Additional taxes such as excise duty on fuels and car tax account for five billion euros of road tax revenue in Finland. Furthermore, various value-added taxes (VAT) add up to about three million of the revenue.
Spain, Greece and Portugal currently have the lowest vehicle tax rates in the EU, with annual tax revenue of 1,068, 1,264 and 1,528 euros per car respectively.
Finland’s National Coalition Party has repeatedly suggested that the current car tax policy be abandoned in favour of an emissions-based model, while also making the purchase of new cars tax free.
HT
