Centre Party calls for fuel price solutions and tax reforms

Leaders of the Centre Party are calling for decisive government action regarding rising fuel prices and economic reforms. Jouni Ovaska, chair of the Transport and Communications Committee, has urged Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to convene the government immediately to address fuel costs. Ovaska criticized internal disagreements among ministers, specifically citing Minister Sari Essayah’s proposal to temporarily lower fuel distribution obligations, as evidence of a lack of a unified plan.

To mitigate the impact on households and businesses, Ovaska suggested that the delay of professional diesel tax relief until 2028 is too slow. The Finnish Employers' Federation has proposed accelerating diesel tax refunds and extending support to smaller transport fleets.

Separately, Centre Party leader Antti Kaikkonen has proposed a new tax model inspired by Estonia to encourage corporate investment and employment. He argued that the government's plan to reduce corporate tax from 20% to 18% is inefficient. Kaikkonen suggested that profits retained within companies should be taxed more lightly than distributed profits. Additionally, he proposed decentralizing central government functions to regional areas to save approximately 500 million euros annually.