In Finland, Tax Day Is the Best Day

While American televisions and newspapers delved deep into the weeds in their coverage of this week’s midterms elections, Finland’s media turned their attention to their own national spectacle of civic duty and patriotism — taxes.

Normally tax season is nothing to get excited about, but it’s an anticipated event for many Finns. On Monday the Finnish tax authorities made public the data of each person in the country, opening the door for a media frenzy of gossip, boasting, and fingerpointing about who has paid their fair share in income tax.

While some might abhor the lack of privacy, the Finnish government believes that making tax information public is necessary for keeping the country functioning. Finland’s welfare system, like America’s, is based off taxes, so public disclosures reinforce the idea that everyone should contribute. But apart from being an opportunity for Finnish society tohave its yearly dose of schadenfreude, the country’s fixation on taxes highlights an internal political debate about sustaining Finland’s welfare model.

Για περισσότερα Foreign Policy