While the negotiations were launched for reasons related to productivity and operational re-structuring, the administration also pointed to the “significant” cuts to its operating budget by the central government. The Tax Administration will have to adapt its operations to the tune of at least 60 million euros by the end of 2027.

“We are in a situation where the responsibilities of some of our officials have decreased or will decrease noticeably and not in a temporary fashion,” Markku Heikura, the director general of the Tax Administration, said in a press release on 3 September.

He pointed to reasons such as increased use of automation, re-structuring of the organisation and the re-alignment of customer service objectives, describing the situation as challenging.

“I am fully confident that, together with employee organisations, we can find a solution that guarantees that the Tax Administration can continue operating effectively also in the future,” he added.

Heikura stated to Helsingin Sanomat in May that he is concerned that the spending cuts outlined by the government could have a negative impact on the ability to collect tax revenue, possibly resulting in hundreds of millions of euros in lost revenue. The spending cuts, he warned at the time, will inevitably necessitate a substantial trimming of services.

“In practice they’ll lead to the winding down of development operations. I’ll be pleased if we can manage with the new legislative revisions. Preparing for changes in the taxation environment will be impossible after the spending cuts,” he said to the newspaper.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT