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Game industry tops Finnish tax lists in 2014

Xinhua, November 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The weight of the game industry in Finland was reflected in the annual taxation information published on Monday. Lasse Louhento, a designer of SuperCell, was listed as the recipient of "highest earned income" with 6.1 million euros (6.72 million U.S. dollars) and the tax rate was 52 percent.

The Helsinki-based game company was also the largest payer of corporate tax in Finland with 170 million euros, followed by the international pharmaceutical company Bayer and the Finnish forest industry giant UPM.

Even though privacy laws are strict in Finland, the personal income details of all taxpayers are published annually at the end of November and quoted widely in the media.

Rajeev Suri, the CEO of Nokia, had the highest personal income tax percentage in Finland. Some 60.1 percent was deducted as taxes from his 707,000-euro-salary. He had no capital gains income in Finland.

Supercell told media that several of its employees purchased company stock last year on the basis of options issues. Such purchase is taxed as an "earned income" even though the stock has not been sold.

Mikael Kirkkojaakkola, the chief economist of the national interest organization of taxpayers, told national broadcaster Yle that only 0.5 percent of the whole nation earn more than 150,000 euros per annum, but that cohort pays 10 percent of the national taxes.

"The bulk of taxation revenue comes from the mid-income segment though. Some 40 percent of the tax-payers have earnings between 25,000 and 75,000 euros and they pay two thirds of the taxes," he said.

The overall tax rate in Finland -- including also "sales tax" and "value added tax" -- amounts to 44 percent. It is one the highest in the world. Endit