Left Alliance begins work on shadow budget
Opposition party chides government as being too business-friendly
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The opposition Left Alliance party has sharply criticised the draft budget put forward by the Ministry of Finance.
"Common responsibility thinking is being pushed out of society", said Martti Korhonen, the chairman of the party’s Parliamentary group, as he commented on the Finance Ministry’s proposal at a press conference on Tuesday.
In his view the draft budget does not move society forward. Instead, he feels that it is leading to an increase in inequality.
The Left Alliance began work on its own shadow budget on Tuesday. The party says that its model will be more just, with an emphasis on social responsibility, and that it would also boost employment.
The party’s chairwoman Suvi-Anne Siimes called for extending funding for research and product development available for the service sector as well. Korhonen, meanwhile, called for more investments in the highway and rail networks, and more aid to local authorities.
As Siimes sees it, the Finance Ministry’s proposal, combined with previous decisions by the government, are leading to a social model in which corporations and individuals with high incomes have a reduced responsibility for the maintenance of the welfare society.
She was referring to the property tax cut in the early spring, as well as the corporate tax reform enacted in the early summer, which she sees as a "gift to the corporations".
Siimes also sees the government’s decision to enact changes in the system of mandatory employers’ contributions to sickness insurance as a move to "lighten the burden" of companies.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 4.8.2004 - TODAY |
 Left Alliance begins work on shadow budget |
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