1. Incentives and fiscal sustainability must be taken into account when developing taxation

The purpose of tax incentives is to increase the employment rate and thus improve the sustainability of public finances, ensuring their quality and availability.

The sustainability of the public sector is ensured by improving the productivity of operations.

The regional government, health and social services reform must not lead to higher taxes.

2. Taxation of earned income should be moderately lowered at all income levels, which can be made possible by carefully increasing excise duties and environmental taxes in particular

Taxation of earned income should be lowered at all income levels. Reducing the taxation of earned income is important in order to protect purchasing power in situations where pay rises are very modest.

Lowering the taxation of earned income can be made possible by increasing excise duties, such as the excise duties on alcohol and cigarettes, as well as by increasing environmental taxes. In addition, we must also find other possible ways to tax harmful products and activities.

3. The tax rates for value-added tax must be kept at their current level, particularly the rates applying to services

Lowered rates for value-added tax are important for the various professions and sectors represented by Akava Special Branches. Lowered tax rates apply to services such as exercise and culture services as well as travelling.

Akava Special Branches is against uniformly increasing all value-added tax rates as well as the increasing of specific value-added tax rates because, as a regressive tax, value-added tax taxes those with low incomes the most.

4. Corporate taxation and entrepreneurs’ value-added taxation must be developed so that the status and income of entrepreneurs can be improved and resources are not focused on further lowering the corporation tax rate.

For entrepreneurs, income tax is often the most important tax. Reducing the taxation of earned income supports entrepreneurship and self-employment.

For value-added taxation, removing retroactive payments and raising the upper limit for tax relief support entrepreneurship and self-employment.

5. Tax solutions are also needed for dismantling welfare traps

We should continue to dismantle welfare traps. General housing allowance should be developed together with the earned income deduction and the tax credit for work income.

The tax credit for work income in state taxation should be scaled according to the number of dependent children to the benefit of the spouse with the lower income.