SY publishes growth package of 50+ proposals

Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association, proposes a growth package of over 50 measures to put Finland on the track of growth. “The more growth we have, the less spending we have to cut,” says Mikael Pentikäinen, CEO of Suomen Yrittäjät.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has promised his Government’s mid-term budget negotiations will include a growth package.

“Finland has failed woefully at building growth. That’s why we have to be brave enough to create solutions that bolster the growth of businesses, and through that, the entire economy. Unfortunately, many of the Government’s actions are starving growth of oxygen,” says Mikael Pentikäinen, CEO of Suomen Yrittäjät.

The share of growth-oriented companies has been declining for years. This is alarming. We’ve placed an excessively large administrative burden on employer entrepreneurs, one which is constantly increasing. Meanwhile, the public sector and the companies it owns are invading the domain of private companies,” Pentikäinen says.

Risk-taking not appreciated

Pentikäinen says that enterprise and business owners’ risk-taking are not appreciated enough at the moment.

“Risk-taking should be rewarded, not mocked. Businesses begin to grow when entrepreneurs and owners have the desire and resources to grow their businesses. Local, regional and national decision-makers must create favourable conditions for business growth, investments and risk-taking,” Pentikäinen says.

“Tinkering around the edges won’t fix things – we need courageous, radical reforms. In its growth package, Suomen Yrittäjät has listed over 50 measures to strengthen growth and encourage entrepreneurs and owners to take the risks and make the investments required for growth.

10 takeaways from SY’s proposals:

1. Rigorously pursue the employment legislation amendments in the Government Programme
2. Enable workplace-specific agreement of Sunday and overtime pay
3. A programme to increase labour mobility
4. RDI investments in the places where they make the biggest increases to productivity and economic growth
5. Increase in labour migration and a strong investment in integration
6. Increase functionality of the finance markets and secure basic banking services
7. Cut corporation tax to 18%
8. Reform dividend taxation to take better consideration of entrepreneurial risk
9. Enforce the Payment Terms Act to end breaches
10. Increase competition by restricting in-house companies’ activities

Read the full Suomen Yrittäjät growth package here.