Vanhanen calls for higher taxation of earners of high incomes

Prime Minister lashes out at rivals during Centre Party council meeting

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Prime Minister and Centre Party leader Matti Vanhanen took shots at political rivals both inside and outside his party, and to opponents on the left and right on Saturday.
      Addressing a meeting of the party’s delegate council in the western city of Pietarsaari, Vanhanen warned the opposition Social Democratic Party that it was pushing itself out of the circle which will decide on the policy programme of the next government.
     
After his speech at the gathering, Vanhanen noted that the political issues of the next Parliamentary elections will be decided in a triangle formed by the three largest parties, the Centre, the National Coalition, and the Social Democrats.
      “Someone might end up falling away from the triangle. The SDP is in such danger. A statement in support of the welfare state is not sufficient as a programme”, Vanhanen said.
     
In his speech Vanhanen proposed that taxation of the highest earned incomes, and capital gains earnings should be increased for a period of five years. He calculated the potential annual yield to be in the hundreds of millions, calling this the “war reparations of the crisis”.
     A working group headed by Martti Hetemäki, a high-ranking Ministry of Finance official, is currently pondering structural issues of taxation.
     However, Vanhanen does not want to wait for the working group to issue its proposals, hoping that changes in corporate and capital gains taxation might be enacted already in the spring.
     
Vanhanen voiced severe criticism toward Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö (Nat. Coalition Party), saying that Niinistö represents antiquated economic thinking.
      “He [Niinistö] is anticipating immediate cuts. This is the model of the 1990s”, Vanhanen said, digging the list of spending cuts of the first government of Paavo Lipponen (SDP) out of his pocket.
      “We must not adopt the policy of Lipponen and Niinistö. Our nation must learn from its mistakes”, Vanhanen said to lengthy applause from the delegates.
     
The speech was interrupted by thunderous, and mostly spontaneous applause on a number of occasions. Many participants at the meeting saw Vanhanen’s speech as a kickoff of his fight for re-election to the party leadership. However, Vanhanen would not admit to Helsingin Sanomat that this was the case.
     
Parliamentary Speaker Niinistö is adhering to his call to cut state spending.
      Responding to Matti Vanhanen’s calls for higher taxes on the rich, Niinistö noted that such a move would reduce the state deficit by only one percent.
      He also said that the state could cut spending by billions of euros by trimming some fat. Writing on his blog, Niinistö did not say where he felt that the cuts could be made.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Kääriäinen wants young challenger for Vanhanen (30.10.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat