Tax offenders escape prison sentences almost without exception
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Those found guilty of tax fraud, tax evasion, and other tax-related crimes almost always get away with fines or a suspended sentence. Only on the rarest of occasions will a white-collar criminal in this category be sent to jail.
Experts from the Ministries of the Interior and Finance regard the punishments as far too lenient.
Helsingin Sanomat has received a copy of the tax administration's recent report on how the tax offences reported by the taxman have been treated in Finnish courts of justice.
Last year, 154 convicted tax offenders received a fine, 179 a suspended prison sentence, and only 16 an unconditional custodial sentence. Only six of the felons were sent to prison for over a year.
The courts ordered those found guilty to pay EUR 9.6 million in damages. This translates to compensation in excess of EUR 20,000 per each offender.
Tax fraudsters were treated more or less in the same fashion even in the years preceding 2007. In 2003, only three people were ordered to serve time in jail.
"The level of the imposed punishments is remarkably low considering how much the culprits benefit from their crimes and how much their offences harm the society", establishes project manager Markku Hirvonen of the Ministry of Finance.
In Sweden tax fraudsters are sent to jail much more often than in Finland. In recent years, 81-92 per cent of those Swedes who have committed grave tax frauds have received unconditional prison sentences.
Compared to Finland the difference is huge. Finland's corresponding figure is appreciably below ten per cent.
Most of the reports of an offence filed by the tax administration relate to tax fraud or aggravated tax fraud. In addition the administration also reports on frauds by a debtor, book-keeping offences, and tax misdemeanours.
Often, the same person has committed more than just one crime. Most of the charges lead to a conviction.
"Often these are situations where the offender has deliberately avoided paying the appropriate taxes for several years. The passed sentences lack the deterrent effect", Hirvonen says.
Instead, the officials may become frustrated at the lenient court rulings, as the handling of economic crimes can drag for years.
"Those investigating the cases end up spending more time with them than the convicted offenders eventually spend in jail", Hirvonen points out.
There is a general consensus among the ministries and the tax authorities that the lenient treatment of such offences only acts as a spur for organised crime to move in to Finnish businesses: when one can get a ten-year sentence for drug offences, and a suspended sentence for tax fraud, the lessons are obvious.
The broader indication would seem to be that Finnish society does not regard economic crimes as being as serious as theft.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 18.2.2008 - TODAY |
 Tax offenders escape prison sentences almost without exception |
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