The economic situation in Finnish municipalities is currently challenging. Kokkola must also secure the city’s economic sustainability amidst significant development opportunities and investment pressures. The city is focused on strengthening its vitality and maintaining a sustainable tax base.
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The proposed harmonization of the real estate tax rate for power plants in the central government transfers reform must be removed. If all property taxes were considered at a 50 % rate in the calculation of adjustments to central government transfers that are based on tax revenues, the incentives for municipalities to promote renewable energy projects would be lost.
Comparison between municipalities in eastern and western Finland should stop: the geopolitical situation has affected all municipalities, and the proposed reform cannot be justified on the basis of regional fairness.
Kokkola’s goal is that the principles of power plant taxation are kept unchanged in the 2027 central government transfers reform and that the transfer sums related to the social and health care reform will be removed from the funding system.
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The Finnish government must ensure adequate funding for employment services. The additional appropriation granted to municipalities in the supplementary budget proposal of spring 2025 does not cover the appropriations granted by the Employment and Economic Development Offices in 2024. The funding must match to the actual service needs.
Kokkola’s goal is to ensure that the responsibilities for organizing employment services, which have been transferred from the government to municipalities with insufficient funds, do not weaken the municipal economy in the future. The TE services reform should not further weaken the financing base of municipalities.