HELSINKI: About 60, 000 car owners stand to receive some 70 million euros in refunds for overcharged taxes in Finland, the state tax on cars that has brought to Finland from abroad has gone skewed.
The Supreme Court ruled that a car that is brought from another EU member state must not be subject to a higher tax than a similar car in Finland.
The average refund amount per car owner is at around 1,100 Euros. And yet, so far only a tenth of those entitled to refunds have gotten the ball rolling.
”If a person has brought a used car from an EU or the European Economic Area and its use has begun no later than 1 April, 2012, that person may be entitled to tax refunds,” Tapio Rouhiainen from Finnish Customs says.
The process of handling the multi-million euro refunds begins in March, and may take as long as a year – a far longer period than the taxman is willing to wait for when taxing citizens.
”Customs are on a pretty tight leash financially,” Rouhiainen says. “We couldn’t have just kept this on a shelf waiting for handlers, they have to be trained and brought up to speed first.”
The calm pace at which car owners have sought remunerations is summed up by one such motorist, Miika Puolakka.
“It’s actually all the same to me when the money pops onto my account, if there’s any to be had. There’s no rush, I’ll wait and see.”
