The government’s tax decision caused a storm – “Poison”

The government canceled the tax support for data centers that it had previously promised during the budget crisis, and the business world reacted immediately. Service sector employers Avocado, Energy industry and Technology industry published all critical statements about the decision.

According to Palta, the government has deviated from taxation in the past. The government first removed the lower electricity tax category for data centers and promised a targeted support model in its place, which was canceled.

“The government says it aims for growth, investments and trust in Finland, but with data centers it works the other way around. First, the electricity tax was unexpectedly raised, then a new subsidy was promised to replace it, and now this promise is being abandoned. This kind of decision-making is poison for investments and Finland’s image,” says Palta’s director of economic policy Third Rauhamäki in the bulletin.

According to Rauhamäki, it is about something bigger than a single form of support.

“Can companies trust the guidelines made in Finland? The government must restore long-termism to decision-making so that Finland can compete for investments in digital infrastructure.”

Energy industry: We cannot continue on this path

CEO of the energy industry Jukka Leskelä considers the whole thing harmful, even though he says that the budget tussle also brought positive decisions about the investment tax credit for clean industry and the return of the interest deduction right.

“Uncertainty about the operating environment of companies is in no one’s interest. However, the whole gives a bad impression of Finland as an investment environment. We cannot continue on this path if we want extensive clean industry investments and jobs here,” Leskelä says in the press release.

The energy industry also highlights the utilization of waste heat from data centers. The cancellation of the subsidy will especially affect data heating plants that supply emission-free energy to small district heating plants, whose situation will deteriorate as a combination of the electricity tax increase and the cancellation of the subsidy.

Technology industry: The budget race remained silent

According to the technology industry, the government did not make any significant new decisions to support growth in its last budget rush. According to the organization, arbitrary decisions regarding the electricity taxation of data centers weaken the attractiveness and predictability of Finland’s operating environment. However, it considers the government’s decision to commit a maximum of 50 million euros to get a European artificial intelligence gigafactory in Finland positive.

“The predictability of the investment environment requires that the agreed solutions are implemented consistently and promptly. In the international investment competition, companies constantly compare Finland’s operating environment to other countries,” says the CEO of Teknologia Taina Susiluoto in the bulletin.

Susiluoto reminds that orders and demand in the technology industry strengthened in the second quarter of the year, and the number of personnel in the machinery and metal products industry rose to its highest level since the financial crisis at the end of June. However, the continuation of growth cannot be taken for granted due to the uncertainty of the global economy.

“Finland needs economic growth. It requires investments in all industries at the same time as we are challenged by competition for state aid between EU countries. Care must be taken to ensure that reasonably priced and reliable clean electricity remains Finland’s asset in the future as well.”