Tuesday sees the state opening of parliament after the six-week winter break. MPs return to plenary sessions this week, and traditionally that entails some kind of evening programme to celebrate the start of another season of democratic debate in parliament.
The evening programme has included opera performances, concerts and more, and the budget for them each year is up to 100,000 euros.
But not this year, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Parliament has decided that as state spending is cut elsewhere, parliament will also reduce outgoings, and there is no need for a fancy party.
Deputy Speaker Paula Risikko (NCP) tells HS that she would be happy to see one evening event per parliamentary term, rather than eight as has been traditional.
The Parliamentary Office aims to save some two million euros per year, with around a sixth of that coming from operational expenses.
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Optional taxation
Several outlets, including business daily Kauppalehti, report on a report on taxation from the Social Democrat-backed Kalevi Sorsa Foundation.
The report focuses on capital gains tax, comparing taxation policy across 15 European countries.
It suggests that tax is becoming optional for richer Finns in some circumstances, as many competitor countries offer tax breaks or even tax-free allowances on money made elsewhere.
For instance, Spain changed the law in 2023 to allow people to avoid tax on capital gains from elsewhere. In comparison, Finland taxes capital gains at a relatively punitive rate.
The report suggests that an EU-wide minimum capital gains tax would be one policy solution to avoid big dents in tax revenues across the bloc.
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Pohjanpalo to Palermo
The international transfer window ended in men's football on Monday, and there was one exciting deadline day move for Finnish fans to follow as reported by Iltalehti and others.
Cult striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who helped Venezia gain promotion to Serie A last season and has become something of a hero in the scenic canalside city, was sold to Palermo.
Finnish outlets did not report the fee, but it is thought to be significant with Venezia forced to cash in due to their financial difficulties.
It was otherwise a fairly quiet transfer window for Finnish players, with Teemu Pukki's return to HJK Helsinki and Glen Kamara's move to Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia the standout transfers from a Finnish perspective.
EDIT 11:54: Added Glen Kamara's transfer.
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