Finland Tax Guide 2013

Transcription

1 Finland Tax Guide 2013

2 foreword A country s tax regime is always a key factor for any business considering moving into new markets. What is the corporate tax rate? Are there any incentives for overseas businesses? Are there double tax treaties in place? How will foreign source income be taxed? Foreword Since 1994, the PKF network of independent member firms, administered by PKF International Limited, has produced the PKF Worldwide Tax Guide (WWTG) to provide international businesses with the answers to these key tax questions. This handy reference guide provides clients and professional practitioners with comprehensive tax and business information for over 90 countries throughout the world. As you will appreciate, the production of the WWTG is a huge team effort and I would like to thank all tax experts within PFK member firms who gave up their time to contribute the vital information on their country s taxes that forms the heart of this publication. I hope that the combination of the WWTG and assistance from your local PKF member firm will provide you with the advice you need to make the right decisions for your international business. Richard Sackin Chairman, PKF International Tax Committee Eisner Amper LLP richard.sackin@eisneramper.com I

3 important disclaimer Disclaimer This publication should not be regarded as offering a complete explanation of the taxation matters that are contained within this publication. This publication has been sold or distributed on the express terms and understanding that the publishers and the authors are not responsible for the results of any actions which are undertaken on the basis of the information which is contained within this publication, nor for any error in, or omission from, this publication. The publishers and the authors expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person, entity or corporation who acts or fails to act as a consequence of any reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication. Accordingly no person, entity or corporation should act or rely upon any matter or information as contained or implied within this publication without first obtaining advice from an appropriately qualified professional person or firm of advisors, and ensuring that such advice specifically relates to their particular circumstances. PKF International is a network of legally independent member firms administered by PKF International Limited (PKFI). Neither PKFI nor the member firms of the network generally accept any responsibility or liability for the actions or inactions on the part of any individual member firm or firms. II

4 Preface The (WWTG) is an annual publication that provides an overview of the taxation and business regulation regimes of the world s most significant trading countries. In compiling this publication, member firms of the PKF network have based their summaries on information current on 1 January 2013, while also noting imminent changes where necessary. On a country-by-country basis, each summary addresses the major taxes applicable to business; how taxable income is determined; sundry other related taxation and business issues; and the country s personal tax regime. The final section of each country summary sets out the Double Tax Treaty and Non-Treaty rates of tax withholding relating to the payment of dividends, interest, royalties and other related payments. While the WWTG should not to be regarded as offering a complete explanation of the taxation issues in each country, we hope readers will use the publication as their first point of reference and then use the services of their local PKF member firm to provide specific information and advice. Preface In addition to the printed version of the WWTG, individual country taxation guides are available in PDF format which can be downloaded from the PKF website at PKF INTERNATIONAL LIMITED MAY 2013 PKF INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USE APPROVED WITH ATTRIBUTION III

5 About PKF International Limited PKF International Limited (PKFI) administers the PKF network of legally independent member firms. There are around 300 member firms and correspondents in 440 locations in around 125 countries providing accounting and business advisory services. PKFI member firms employ around 2,270 partners and more than 22,000 staff. PKFI is the 11th largest global accountancy network and its member firms have $2.68 billion aggregate fee income (year end June 2012). The network is a member of the Forum of Firms, an organisation dedicated to consistent and high quality standards of financial reporting and auditing practices worldwide. Services provided by member firms include: Introduction Assurance & Advisory Insolvency Corporate & Personal Financial Planning/Wealth management Taxation Corporate Finance Forensic Accounting Management Consultancy Hotel Consultancy IT Consultancy PKF member firms are organised into five geographical regions covering Africa; Latin America; Asia Pacific; Europe, the Middle East & India (EMEI); and North America & the Caribbean. Each region elects representatives to the board of PKF International Limited which administers the network. While the member firms remain separate and independent, international tax, corporate finance, professional standards, audit, hotel consultancy and business development committees work together to improve quality standards, develop initiatives and share knowledge and best practice cross the network. Please visit for more information. IV

6 Structure of Country Descriptions A. TAXES PAYABLE FEDERAL TAXES AND LEVIES COMPANY TAX CAPITAL GAINS TAX BRANCH PROFITS TAX SALES TAX/VALUE ADDED TAX FRINGE BENEFITS TAX LOCAL TAXES OTHER TAXES B. DETERMINATION OF TAXABLE INCOME CAPITAL ALLOWANCES DEPRECIATION STOCK/INVENTORY CAPITAL GAINS AND LOSSES DIVIDENDS INTEREST DEDUCTIONS LOSSES FOREIGN SOURCED INCOME INCENTIVES Structure C. FOREIGN TAX RELIEF D. CORPORATE GROUPS E. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS F. WITHHOLDING TAX G. EXCHANGE CONTROL H. PERSONAL TAX I. TREATY AND NON-TREATY WITHHOLDING TAX RATES V

7 INTERNATIONAL TIME ZONES Time Zones At 12 noon, Greenwich Mean Time, the standard time elsewhere is: A Algeria pm Angola pm Argentina am Australia - Melbourne pm Sydney pm Adelaide pm Perth pm Austria pm B Bahamas am Bahrain pm Belgium pm Belize am Bermuda am Brazil am British Virgin Islands am Guernsey noon Guyana am H Hong Kong pm Hungary pm I India pm Indonesia pm Ireland noon Isle of Man noon Israel pm Italy pm J Jamaica am Japan pm Jordan pm C Canada - Toronto am Winnipeg am Calgary am Vancouver am Cayman Islands am Chile am China - Beijing pm Colombia am Cyprus pm Czech Republic pm D Denmark pm Dominican Republic am E Ecuador am Egypt pm El Salvador am Estonia pm F Fiji midnight Finland pm France pm G Gambia (The) noon Germany pm Ghana noon Greece pm Grenada am Guatemala am VI K Kenya pm L Latvia pm Lebanon pm Luxembourg pm M Malaysia pm Malta pm Mexico am Morocco noon N Namibia pm Netherlands (The) pm New Zealand midnight Nigeria pm Norway pm O Oman pm P Panama am Papua New Guinea pm Peru am Philippines pm Poland pm Portugal pm Q Qatar am R Romania pm

8 Russia - Moscow pm St Petersburg pm S Singapore pm Slovak Republic pm Slovenia pm South Africa pm Spain pm Sweden pm Switzerland pm T Taiwan pm Thailand pm Tunisia noon Turkey pm Turks and Caicos Islands am U Uganda pm Ukraine pm United Arab Emirates pm United Kingdom (GMT) 12 noon United States of America - New York City am Washington, D.C am Chicago am Houston am Denver am Los Angeles am San Francisco am Uruguay am Time Zones V Venezuela am Z Zimbabwe pm VII

9 Finland Finland Currency: Euro Dial Code To: 358 Dial Code Out: 990 (EUR) Please Oliver Grosse-Brauckmann, PKF International EMEI Director at for details of Finnish tax contacts. A. Taxes payable Federal taxes and levies Company tax Finnish resident companies are liable to corporate income tax on their worldwide income. Non-resident companies are taxed on their Finnish-sourced income only. Corporate residence is not defined in the tax legislation but residency is usually associated with registration. Corporate income tax rate is 24.5% of the taxable income. The tax year consists of the financial period (or periods) that end during the calendar year. The final tax assessment for the tax year is determined based on the tax return. Corporate bodies must file the tax return within four months of the end of their accounting period. Tax returns are processed within ten months of the end of the accounting period. Capital gains tax Capital gains are normally taxed as ordinary income. Where shares or land have been held for business purposes, the disposal is subject to normal income tax. In specific circumstances, capital gains from the disposal of shares of a subsidiary are tax exempt. The shares need to be owned for at least one year prior to disposal and the seller has to have owned at least 10% of the company whose shares are being disposed of. Branch profits tax There is no specific branch profits tax in Finland. The taxable income for branches of foreign companies in Finland is calculated on the same basis as for Finnish resident companies. Sales tax/value added tax (VAT) VAT is paid on the sale of goods and services, on the importation of goods, on intracommunity acquisitions, and on the removal of the goods from a fiscal warehousing arrangement when the removal takes place in Finland. In principle, all sales of goods and services are subject to VAT. However, there are some supplies of goods and services which are exempt under the conditions defined in the VAT Act. The general VAT rate is 24%. Other applicable rates are as follows: 14% for individuals food and animal feed 10% for medicines, books, cultural events, passenger transportation, hotel accommodation and other services exports outside the European Union are zero rated. Fringe benefits tax (FBT) There is no specific fringe benefits tax in Finland. However, the employer has a legal responsibility to withhold income taxes and social security contributions from salaries and benefits paid to their employees. Local taxes Basically, there are no local taxes imposed on companies. However, municipal real estate tax is levied on properties owned by companies. It is normally 0.32% to 0.75% (residential buildings) and 0.6% to 1.35% (other buildings) of the taxation value of the immovable property, depending on the municipality where the property is situated, and is deductible, up to certain limits, for income tax purposes. Other taxes Employers must make social security contributions to cover the costs of health insurance at the rate of 2.04% on gross remuneration paid to employees between 16 and 68 years of age. Pension insurance contributions are also payable at 17.35% (on average), unemployment contributions (0.8% on the first EUR 1,990,500 and 3.2% on the excess) and accidental injury insurance contribution of approximately 1.07% of annual gross wages and salaries. B. Determination of taxable income Taxable income is determined based on financial accounting income adjusted for nontaxable and non-deductible items. In practice, the determination of taxable income is 1

10 Finland closely connected to the determination of net income for financial statement purposes. Generally, all expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining business income are deductible. One exception is entertainment expenses of which only 50% are deductible. Depreciation Buildings and other constructions are depreciated using the declining balance method. Depreciation for each building is calculated separately, with the maximum percentage varying from 4% to 20%, depending on the type of the construction. Depreciation of machinery and equipment is calculated using the declining balance method with a maximum rate of 25%. Patents and other intangible rights, such as goodwill, are amortised on a straight-line basis for ten years for tax purposes, unless the taxpayer demonstrates that the asset has a shorter useful life. Assets with a useful life of less than three years may be written off using the free depreciation method, i.e. deduct up to 100% of the costs of assets in a single tax year where the value for each item is less than EUR 850 and the total value of such assets is no more than EUR 2,500 per tax year. The allowable annual rates of depreciation are doubled for the tax years for the following: New industrial buildings and workshops used for production activities (increase from 7% to 14%) New machinery and equipment used for production activities (increase from 25% to 50%). Stock/inventory In principle, the acquisition costs of inventories are deducted when assets are sold, consumed or lost. Inventories on hand at the end of the tax year are valued at an amount not exceeding the lower of acquisition cost or market value. Acquisition cost is calculated on a FIFO basis. Certain overhead costs can be included in the acquisition cost of products. Capital gains and losses As discussed above, capital gains are usually taxable as ordinary income. Broadly speaking, gains on the disposal of shares in resident companies in which the seller had at least a 10% interest throughout the year ending on the date of disposal are exempt from tax. Dividends Inter-company dividends are tax exempt in most cases, although they are partly (75%) taxable if they are distributed by a quoted company to a non-quoted company that holds less than 10% of the capital in the distributing company, or the recipient company is a financial or insurance company holding the shares as investment assets. Tax agreements may entitle non-residents either to benefit from a lower withholding tax rate or to receive an imputation credit. Dividends are exempt from withholding tax when paid to a company resident in a European Union country if the company pays national corporate tax and holds at least 10% of the share capital in the distributing company. Tax exemption does not apply if the recipient is entitled to imputation credit. Interest deductions Normally, interest on loans obtained for business purposes are deductible in full on an accruals basis. New thin capitalisation rules are being introduced, however, from tax year 2014 which will apply to interest paid between related parties. Broadly speaking, a company may deduct up to EUR 500,000 of interest expense per year without restriction. Similarly, if a company can demonstrate that the proportion of its net assets represented by equity is at least as high as the group s consolidated equity to net assets ratio, then the thin capitalisation rules will also not apply. Where neither of these exemptions apply, the maximum deductible amount of interest paid to related parties is 30% of EBITDA. Any interest restricted under these rules can be carried forward to use in future years. Losses Losses may be carried forward and set off in the subsequent ten tax years. If more than 50% of the shares of the company are sold during a loss year or thereafter, losses from previous years cannot usually be deducted. Foreign sourced income If a foreign company falls under the Finnish controlled foreign company (CFC) 2

11 Finland legislation, then the foreign company s undistributed profits can be allocated to the taxable income of a Finnish shareholder. The preconditions for the application of the CFC legislation are as follows: one or more Finnish resident shareholders directly or indirectly own at least 50% of the capital or of the voting rights in the CFC or they are entitled to at least 50% of the yield of the net wealth of the CFC the Finnish resident shareholder owns, directly or indirectly, at least 25% of the CFC the effective tax rate of the CFC in its country of residence is less than threefifths of the tax of an equivalent company resident in Finland (currently 14.7%). Incentives Accelerated depreciation is available to small and medium-sized companies that make investments in certain development areas. The investment must be in assets that will establish or enlarge production facilities or tourist businesses in those areas. The increased rate of depreciation is available for the year of investment and the following two years. A 200% deduction is available in respect of salary costs incurred on research and development activities where those costs are between EUR 15,000 and EUR 400,000. C. Foreign tax relief Under tax treaties, foreign tax is most frequently relieved by an exemption or by a tax credit. If a tax treaty does not apply, Finnish domestic law grants a credit for foreign tax paid. The credit is granted only if the foreign tax is final. From 2010, a requirement to calculate available credits on a source country-bycountry basis was removed and the ability to carry forward unused credits was extended from one year to five years. D. Corporate groups Corporations are taxed separately in Finland. There is no concept of consolidated tax returns. However, it is possible to make group contributions if the parent company owns at least 90% of the subsidiary during the whole financial year. The payments will be tax deductible to the payer and taxable on the recipient. E. Related party transactions Related party transactions are generally accepted if they are at arm s length. Arm s length pricing applies to transactions of all types including the purchasing of inventory and the provision of services and financial facilities. Documentation requirements apply to foreign-owned subsidiaries and branches in Finland and Finnish Groups with more than 250 employees and an annual turnover of above EUR 50m or a balance sheet of more than EUR 43m. F. Withholding tax Withholding tax is not imposed on dividends paid to resident companies. Dividends paid to non-resident companies are generally subject to a final withholding tax of 24.5% which may be reduced or eliminated under tax treaties. Non-resident shareholders are not entitled to an imputation credit unless a tax treaty provides otherwise. Interest paid to resident companies is not subject to withholding tax. Interest paid to non-residents is generally exempt from tax. Withholding tax is not imposed on royalties paid to resident companies. Royalties paid to non-resident companies are generally subject to a final withholding tax of 24.5% which may be reduced or eliminated under a tax treaty. Royalties are, in certain cases, exempted from withholding tax when paid to a company resident in a European Union country. In certain circumstances, tax must be withheld on payments for work carried on by non-residents. G. Exchange control In principle, there is no exchange control in Finland. H. Personal tax Finnish resident individuals are subject to tax in respect of their worldwide income. Nonresidents are taxed on their income derived from Finland. A temporary expatriate regime applies for employment commencing in or before

12 Finland under which qualifying specialists and executives may apply for a flat rate of income tax of 35% to apply to income from duties carried out in Finland, instead of the ordinary progressive tax rates, and to become exempt from the health insurance premium. The tax year for individuals is the calendar year. Married persons are taxed separately both on earned income and investment income. Interest and insurance deductions are dependent, in certain circumstances, on the marital status of the taxpayer. In general, married persons will have their own deductions. Individuals are entitled to deduct from their investment income and earned income all expenses incurred in acquiring and maintaining such income. Individuals have a right to deduct interest expenses from investment income. Interest expenses are deductible if the debt is related to the acquisition of taxable income. In 2013, 80% of interest on a loan used to purchase the individual s permanent home is deductible (75% in 2014). An individual is deemed to be a resident in Finland if he has his main place of abode in Finland or if he is continuously present in Finland for a period of more than six months. A presence is deemed continuous irrespective of temporary absence. Finnish nationals are, in addition, subject to the three-year rule. According to this rule, a Finnish national is considered to remain resident in Finland for three years after the end of the year in which he left the country, unless he shows that he has not maintained essential ties in Finland during the tax years concerned. However, under the terms of tax treaties, the three-year rule may be negated if the individual is deemed resident in another country. An individual is taxed separately on earned income and on investment income. Earned income is subject to national income tax, municipal income tax and church tax. Earned income includes salaries, wages and benefits in kind. Investment income includes dividend income, capital gains, certain interest income and income from rental activities. Capital income up to EUR 50,000 is taxed at 30% whereas amounts over EUR 50,000 are taxed at 32%. Finland imposes both inheritance and gift tax. The minimum taxable amount for inheritance taxation is EUR 20,000 and for gift tax EUR 4,000. Tax rates for both inheritance and gift tax vary from 7% to 32%, depending on who is the receiver of the inheritance and the value inherited or gifted. Wages and salaries paid by an employer are subject to a withholding tax. The amount withheld is based on the amount of wages or salary as well as on the individual circumstances of the employee. The national income tax rates in 2013 for earned income are as follows: Taxable income (EUR) Tax on lower amount (EUR) Rate on excess 16,100 23, ,901 39, ,101 70,300 3, , ,000 9, Over 100,000 18, I. Treaty and non-treaty withholding tax rates Dividend (1) (2) Interest (3) Royalties Non-Treaty Countries: N/A 24.5 Treaty Countries: Argentina Armenia /10 Australia

13 Finland Dividend (1) (2) Interest (3) Royalties Austria Azerbaijan Barbados Belarus Belgium Bosnia-Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Canada China Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Estonia 15 0/ Faroe Islands France Georgia 10 0/5 0 0 Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Korea, Republic of Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malaysia Malta Mexico /15 10 Moldova /7 Morocco New Zealand Norway Pakistan 20 12/ Poland Romania Russia Serbia

14 Finland Dividend (1) (2) Interest (3) Royalties Singapore Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Tanzania Thailand /25 15 Turkey /10/15 10 Ukraine /10 10 United Kingdom United States United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam 15 10/ Zambia Tax at source on dividend. 2 The recipient is a company whose share in the company making the payment is at least the percentage indicated in the tax treaty. In some cases, the holding refers to share capital and in others to voting power. The relevant tax treaty should be checked to determine the exact requirements. 3 According to the domestic tax law, interest paid to a non-resident is usually exempt from taxation in Finland 6

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