Legislation of Finland

Service packages Legislation Tax System Audit Services

List of laws and regulations

Act name
Scope of law
Foreign insurance companies
Preventing and clearing money laundering and terrorist financing
Disclosure and confidentiality of tax Information
Audit
Bankruptcy
Information on companies
Limited liabilities companies
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Tax treaties entered

Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Brazil
Canada
China
Cyprus
Denmark (including the Faroe Islands)
Egypt
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Republic of Korea
Romania
Russian Federation
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tanzania
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Zambia

Tax Exchange Information Agreement (TIEA)

Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
The Bahamas
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cook Islands
Dominica
Gibraltar
Grenada
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Jersey
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Macao
Marshall Islands
Monaco
Montserrat
Netherlands Antilles
Samoa
Seychelles
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Turks and Caicos
Vanuatu

List of state regulatory authorities

Finnish Trade Register
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Trade and Industry
National Board of Patents and Registration
Supreme Administrative Court

Corporate info

Legal system
Civil law system based on the Swedish model
Types of entity
Private entrepreneur;
General Partnership;
Limited Partnership;
Limited Liability Company (osakeyhtiö Oyj);
Cooperative;
Branch (or office) of a Foreign Enterprise
Shelf companies permitted
No
Incorporation timescale for a new company
6 working days
Company suffix
Osakeyhtiö (Oy) in Finnish language or Aktiebolag (Ab) in Swedish language for private limited company
Sensitive words
Last name of the other person or professional name or name of the listed piece of art; listed abbreviations
Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name
No
Local registered office
No
Local registered agent
Yes
Information to be kept at the registered office
Not required
Seal required, type of seal
Not required
Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted
Permitted within the European Union

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors
1
Residency requirements for directors
No
Corporate directors permitted
No
Directors’ meetings/frequency/location
Yes / according to Articles / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Company secretary required
No
Residency requirements for a secretary
No
Qualified secretary required
No
Corporate secretary permitted
No

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders
1
Residency requirements for shareholders
No
Corporate shareholder permitted
Yes
Meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annualy / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Beneficiary info disclosure to
No

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital
2 500
Minimum issued share capital
2 500
Minimum paid share capital
2 500
Authorized capital payment deadlines
Before registration
Issued capital payment deadlines
Beofore registration
Standard currency
EUR
Standard authorized share capital
2 500
Standard par value of shares
Any
Shares with no par value permitted
No
Bearer shares permitted
No

Taxes

Personal tax
12,64-44%
Сorporate tax
20%
Corporate tax (in detail)
Corporate tax is levied at a fixed rate of 20%
Capital gains tax
20%
Capital gains tax. Details
Capital gains are included into the corporate tax base
VAT
24%
VAT. Details
The standard VAT rate is 24%. Reduced rates of 14% and 10% apply to some goods and services
Withholding tax
20% (dividend), 0% (interest), 20% (royalty)
Other taxes
Social Contributions, Municipal Property Tax, Property Transfer Tax, Inheritance and Gift Tax
Exchange control
No
Government fee
Stamp duty
No

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts
Yes
Requirement to file accounts
Yes
Publicly accessible accounts
Yes
Requirement to file Annual Return
Yes
Publicly accessible Annual Return
Yes
Audit required
No

General information shortly

Location
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Total area
338 145 sq.km
Population
5 526 774 (2020)
Capital
Helsinki
National currency
Euro
Conditional reduction of currency
EUR
Against USD
1?08 (2024)
Climate, average max and min t°
Semi-continental climate; in southern Finland - north temperate; avg. maximum temperature (July) +25°; avg. minimum temperature (January) -14°.
Time difference from Moscow
No
Dialing code
+358
State language
Finnish and Swedish
Ethnic groups
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1%
Literacy rate
100%
History
Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are a high standard of education, equality promotion, and national social security system.
Credit rating
AA+
Government type
Republic
Executive branch
President - chief of state; Prime Minister - head of government; Council of State (Cabinet or Valtioneuvosto) appointed by the president is responsible to parliament
Legislative branch
Unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta) and shared by the by Parliament (Eduskunta) and shared with the country's president; 200 parliamentarian elected by universal suffrage for four-year terms
Judicial branch
Two main branches: general courts, dealing with civil suits and criminal cases, and administrative courts, regulating the actions of the country's bureaucracy; each of the branched is headed by the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court; the two court systems are entirely separate, and they have no jurisdiction over one another; judges are appointed by the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court for life, with retirement set at age seventy
Unemployment
7,8% (2020)
GDP per capita rank
25 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
88 (2021)

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