Raises a number of interesting questions.
Alex
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FINLAND'S PROGRESSIVE FINES
Like most other countries, Finland has progressive tax rates.
But unlike other countries, Finland has extended the concept of
progressivity -- under which the wealthy pay more than those of
modest income -- to traffic fines. Indeed, the wealthy are also
hit harder when convicted of such diverse crimes as shoplifting
or securities-law violations.
But it is the traffic fines that are particularly irksome to
well-off Finns.
o In one recent case police issued a $71,400 speeding ticket
to a motorist who was clocked at 43 miles an hour in a 25
miles-an-hour zone.
o With traffic fines based on a combination of the severity
of the offense and the driver's income, police until
recently had been satisfied to accept whatever violators
claimed as their current monthly gross income -- until
they found that the figures were routinely being
understated.
o But then motorists complained that fines should be based on
take-home pay -- which is considerably less, given
Finland's high tax rates, than gross income.
o So late in 1999 the government began basing fines on net
income -- and police have begun using cellular phones to
access official tax records to verify incomes.
While middle-income Finns seem to find the system fair, some of
their wealthier countrymen wonder if they should even risk hefty
fines by getting behind the wheel of a car in the first place.
Source: Steve Stecklow, "Helsinki on Wheels: Fast Finns Find
Fines Fit Their Finances," Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2001.
--
Dr. Alexander Tabarrok
Vice President and Director of Research
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA, 94621-1428
Tel. 510-632-1366, FAX: 510-568-6040
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
