Tax administration: Wind and solar power plants have become a significant source of income for several municipalities in Finland

in Finland there are municipalities for which wind and solar power plants have become a significant source of income.

According to the tax administration, currently more than 20 percent of the real estate tax revenue of 33 municipalities is collected from wind and solar power plants in the municipalities’ territory. The number of such municipalities has also increased since last year, when there were 27. There are a total of 309 municipalities in Finland.

According to the tax administration, it is not possible to specify from the statistics how much of the municipalities’ real estate taxes have accrued from wind turbines and what proportion from solar power plants.

The largest share of wind and solar power plants in the municipality’s property tax revenue is in Simo. According to the tax administration’s release, they generate up to 68.8 percent of the municipality’s real estate taxes.

In Pyhäjoki, the proportion is almost the same. There, power plants account for nearly 67 percent of the municipality’s property tax. In Kannu, on the other hand, the share is 59.6 percent and in Pyhänni 58.5 percent.

However, the majority of Finnish municipalities receive no or very little income from wind and solar power plants. For example, in Helsinki, the return from wind and solar power plants is round zero.

From the provinces the share of wind and solar power plants in the total property tax collection is the largest in Central Ostrobothnia. There, 12.1 percent of the province’s property tax accrues from wind and solar power.

According to the Tax Administration, among the provinces of Western Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia also benefit from property taxes generated by wind and solar power plants.

On the other hand, for example in North Karelia, Uusimaa and Päijät-Hämee, the share of wind and solar power plants in property tax collection is close to zero.

Tax administration says in its press release that this year property tax on wind and solar power plants totaled EUR 46.7 million.

The impact of the power plants on the total collection of property tax therefore remained relatively small, at just under two percent.

All in all, a total of approximately 2.4 billion euros was collected in real estate taxes from the municipalities this year.

Property tax revenue increased by approximately EUR 160 million more than last year. About EUR 1.74 billion of property tax was collected from buildings and EUR 662 million from land.

The increase was mainly due to the change in the real estate tax law that entered into force at the beginning of 2024. At the beginning of the year, the general real estate tax percentage of land base was differentiated from the general real estate tax percentage and the lower limit of its range was increased from 0.93 percent to 1.30 percent.

As a result of the change, the general real estate tax percentage of land base was increased in 245 municipalities.

Tax Administration According to This year it is 10.7 million euros more than in 2023 and 31 million euros more than in 2020.

Chief Inspector of the Tax Administration Jenna Lempiäinen growth will continue in the future as well.

“The impact of wind and solar power plants on property tax revenue will continue to grow as the power plants that are planned and under construction progress and are finally completed,” he says in the press release.