mene, mene, tekel, upharsin

A whole new take on flat taxes

I'm a big proponent of the idea of flat taxes. One little piece of paper: How much you made, how much you owe. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. The Finns take that concept one step further, with fines based on income.

Finnish authorities know how much everyone earns, and they prorate traffic fines depending on the wealth of the mal-efactor. Last year the 27-year-old heir to a local sausage fortune was fined 170,000 euros, about $204,000 at the time of the fine, for driving at 50 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone in downtown Helsinki.


For whatever reason, the Scandanavian countries really seem to get it. I'd love to bring some of their social policies here, but that's certainly easier said than done. It's certainly tempting to maybe just pack up my bags and go to the goodness. Who knows

posted by WunEyedDog @ 12:39 AM