See the Finnish flag? This is in Farmville, in Facebook. The flag is made of white and blue hay bales.

Happy Independence Day!

In October, after that statement was issued, I sent a web feedback to the Tax Authority (Verohallinto) requesting that they respect my privacy in accordance with the court’s decision, KHO:2009:82, and got a reply, which was a copy-paste of the law regarding the publicity of tax records. And guess what else? Veropörssi is back on the store shelves with the 2010 edition. It seems that the Finnish Tax Authority regards their own Administrative High Court as a complete joke. Also Iltalehti, Iltasanomat, YLE, etc. all have their own lists or databases so the Tax Authority has been selling tax records to the press just as before, even if a court decision came out over a month prior emphasizing protection of privacy.

In October, I also sent an e-mail to the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman. In it I said that the court decision sounds great and they seem to agree with your stance, and that I would hate to have my taxation personal data end up in publications or the internet once again. The data protection board are the ones that ultimately make the decision, though, like they did before. When the Data Protection Ombudsman try to bring a little order to this tax record publication circus previously, the Data Protection Board completely undermined his efforts by defending freedom of speech/press. Well who wants to try to regulate the quality of journalism? What kind of publishing of tax records is OK and what isn’t? Veropörssi is a lot closer to the traditional definition of journalism than, for example, YLE’s Verokone. Trying to define what is journalism and what isn’t won’t get far. That can eventually end up in the European Court of Human Rights and lose. The simplest approach would be to treat all personal data like personal data, and regard the universal human rights more highly than archaic Swedish governing principles used so the state, church and neighbours could police how much each person was paying. That has no place in modern society, unless the Tax Authority is totally incompetent, of course. In that case we should outsource them anyway. And if the court says that protection of privacy is important, does that mean now, later, 6 months from now, or whenever it is convenient?

If government transparency was working the way it should work, I could easily search and find the yearly budget of the Data Protection Board office, so that people would know how much tax they are paying for people who don’t seem to be willing or interested in really protecting their personal data, but instead defend people selling and publishing it with “freedom of speech/press” or bicker about what is journalism and what is not. It’s probably a lot of money, money Finland probably doesn’t have to waste. And more is about to be wasted on upcoming court cases, now that noone seems to have paid any attention to the High Administrative Court’s verdict.

I was told by an involved government official that I should file charges with the police. I am not sure who is guilty and who to file the charges against. When the government bodies treat a decision from their own High Administrative Court as a joke, one is not really sure where to turn anymore. Maybe all national remedies have been exhausted and the only place left is the European Court of Human Rights. They might find a case like this interesting for a change. The cases coming out of Finland in the ECHR have mainly dealt with the long length of court proceedings. A clear, serious Human Rights offense case they might find rather engaging. (the right to  protection of one’s private and family life)

PS, according to a priest friend of mine, you can calculate if people belong or don’t belong to one of the official churches (Lutheran or Orthodox) by calculating their tax percentage vs. income. I haven’t verified that myself. At least you can probably quite clearly see, however, people who have left the official churches during sequential tax periods.  How about a “Luopiopörssi”? Heh, heh imagine that.  If that’s true, I don’t think privacy protection (or lack thereof) gets much worse than this.

Why would a beer brewery that claims to have been around since 15-something need to sweeten its beer with saccharin?

Fortunately, I have not seen Finnish beers doing this (yet anyway).

Recipe authenticity fail!

Here’s some links: (in Finnish)

http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/talous/uutiset/etusivu/uutinen.jsp?oid=2009/09/26110

http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2009/09/veroporssi-lehti_rikkoi_henkilotietolakia_1024362.html?origin=rss

We may all be thinking that this kind of thing could never happen in Finland. Well, it can and may. Finland now has legislation for refunding the registration fees on cars that are taken out of the country. If the economy gets stuck here, and people can’t sell their cars, they will start selling them in other parts of the EU, Russia or elsewhere. Already you should be able to sell your car in another EU country and get a tax refund. Already cars sales are at an extreme low all over the EU. Saab is looking at possible bankruptcy after General Motors dumped it back in Sweden’s lap to take care of. (Doesn’t Saab stand for Svensk Automobil AB?)

The high taxation in Finland and Denmark causes people even more than normal to buy their cars on loan. The economy would be more solid and stable if more people owned their cars outright. The government is essentially collecting a lot of taxes on borrowed money. This is another example of monkey-see-monkey-do legislation, where Finland automatically copied Sweden’s way of doing things without considering whether or not it was smart. Is copying someone else’s way of doing things democratic?

The high tax also challenges those who are selling cars, especially in a time like this, when people are watching their money. And where are unemployed car salespeople going to work when they lose their jobs?

Personally, I think cars should have the same VAT as any other product. They should not be taxed differently on size, capacity, thickness of cushioning, engine type, etc. This stuff requires all kinds of protectionism and relegates the function of customs to being a sort of mafia: Pay or else. It also restricts the flow of goods and people around the EU, which is against the principles of the EU.

You don’t believe me? You think I am just ranting. Have a look at these articles.

Iceland debates refunding tax on used cars sold overseas

Another article about cars in Iceland

Car sales in the EU plummet to a 20 year low

This house in Detroit lists for 10,000 dollars in realtor.com

Link to Realtor.com’s listings for Detroit, Michigan with a price cap of 10,000 dollars.

(I got this tip from one workmate. You know who you are if you read this. Thanks.)

If you clicked the link, you see some pretty nice looking houses there. I can only speculate on why this is. First of all, I know the US automobile industry is probably not doing so well right now, when people don’t want to spend money. The “rust belt” companies are laying off workers in the droves. The “rust belt” refers to the old automobile industry area. I checked some other areas of the US, and I did not see this phenomenon.

Detroit also gets some nasty winters. It is colder than Southern Finland, and gets violent snow storms. If one has no income there and wants to leave, there is still the house which needs heating, and needs the snow removed. That all costs money. I have seen Americans charging each other 60 dollars a pop to plow 20-30m of driveway, so it can be expensive.

There would also be the property taxes. Without income, one doesn’t want to pay property taxes either, especially if they have moved away. A typical US city’s property taxes are no joke. They use those to pay for schools and municipal services.

I also don’t think they have a very easy time finding renters to rent those places, if thousands of people have already left that area.

It also could be banks selling them for the amount that the person had defaulted on a loan, or the city/state selling them for the amount owed in back taxes. Who knows. “Motivated seller” would indicate someone who earnestly wants to get rid of the house.

If there are any Finnish companies who have been wanting to set up in America, this might be your opportunity. You can get cheap buildings, and your employees can get good houses to live in. And your Finnish workers might get to see some “real snow” for the first time.

Well, I suppose the wise parliamentarians will figure it out. They must also know about the mobile phone memory cards, USB memory sticks, chat programs, fax machines, paper copies, diskettes, optical disks, USB hard disks, laptops taken home, talk, telephones, and other ways that information can also leak. They must also know of all the ways to circumvent Lex Nokia, like by simply using a web-based e-mail program which uses SSL encryption. Or is it a lot of 50 something or older politicians dealing with something that they don’t really understand? The internet started being popular in the 1990′s. I have seen first hand how little the older generation understands about how the internet works with one guy I know, who is even an engineer, who is about 55. I go an occasionally disinfect his computer of all the pornography autodiallers, “time managers”, and other stuff that he has installed when answering “yes” to anything that pops up.  He would probably inadvertently be the kind of person who would get burnt by Lex Nokia after all.

Another article in English.

You might be wondering how this fits in with personal data protection. How does the Finnish government think it is A-OK to sell and give personal taxation figures and names, together with the municipality, to the press to be published, even when people have explicitly requested that they don’t, also knowing that the information ends up in the internet as well. I don’t know. It seems very much in violation of our very basic human rights of privacy, safety, and to be free of discrimination.

The case C-73/07 Satamedia was in the European Court of Justice, but they dismissed it and sent it back here, it seems with a little question to be answered.  Was the personal data collected “solely for journalistic purposes”? That would be the only way under the directive that would exempt the data from personal data protection.  It could be the European Court of Justice offered the opportunity to the Finnish government to save its own face. Let’s see what happens.

Article in HS.fi in Finnish.

Now the fun begins. I called customs 3-4 times and let it ring about 3-4 minutes each time. Finally the switchboard operator was able to connect me to a number that someone acutally answers. I explained that the items in the 60 EUR package are 2 Christmas gifts from 2 different people to 2 different people. It was non-negotiable. I have to make a 1 hour drive to customs so I can pay them 10 EUR.

Does this tempt me to lie about the value of things I ship? Yes. They don’t make it easy to for you to pay them the money that they think you should pay them. This has been a pain in the ass. If you want me to pay you money, send me my package and a bank account number and I will pay the money. Why do you people have to make it such a pain in the ass? After all, I paid to have the item shipped to my mailbox.

Article in Finnish about this on MTV3.

Silly, silly woman. If she had only waited a few months, she could have entertained herself till her heart is content with EVERYONE’S tax information by downloading it from the torrent trackers.

Tax Authority punishes this woman for invading peoples’ privacy, yet on the other hand letting everyone’s information end up in magazines and the internet. What a joke Personal Data Protection is in Finland.

MÄGI PÄIVÄINE

If you have nerves of steel, patience and time, you can follow the lone dirt track over steep, rugged mountains and transverse the rapidly moving valley rivers to Mägi Päiväine, meaning Mountain Sun in the English Language.

It can be said that Mägi Päiväine is one of the most isolated places on earth, but once there, you’ll discover a beautiful valley with rich soils and plenty of pure water. The surrounding mountains hide lakes of pure water and serve as a summer pasture for livestock. Still Mägi Päiväine is an exercise in survival against the elements. Her people have survived the harshness of mother nature and reaped her bounty. In short, they have carved out an uneventful but peaceful self-sufficient life.

Mägi Päiväine’s borders are hard to define. You see, the folks who call Mägi Päiväine home have lived here for generations with very little contact with the outside world. The high mountain valley and surrounding area has never been officially claimed, in person anyway. The size of Mägi Päiväine depends on who you ask. For certain, it does include the entire settlement valley and the land grazed by the cattle. The valley covers some 3.5 square miles.

Magi Paivainne is considered beautiful with steep mountains. Water is plentiful and a number of springs provide a bounty of very fresh water in the form of small streams and even a couple of small lakes. Valley soil is rich, producing good crops. The mountains offer excellent grazing in spring and summer.

Locating Mägi Päiväine on a map is going to be impossible. It is unrecognized. In fact, local old timers claim the communists began displacing the Veps and Ingrians after the Soviets came to power. Many went to Finland. The Veps and their neighbors, the Karelians and the Ingrians were considered a threat to national security. The Soviet solution was moving small communities to different areas. The people of Mägi Päiväine say they originally are from the Northwest Vologda district. It is told they sought isolation as a protection from the Soviets. So, the high mountain valley became the new home to this isolated group.

At the end of World War II, a small group of Russian soldiers found Mägi Päiväine. They were tired, hungry and suffering from exposure from the elements. The folks of Mägi Päiväine took them in, tending to the injuries of a couple of soldiers. The show of compassion was just what Mägi Päiväine needed. The returning soldiers set in motion a chain of events that would conditionally allow Mägi Päiväine to exist. Formal papers soon arrived stating Mägi Päiväine was an autonomous region. In essence, it was independence for the people and a guarantee that they could control their destiny so long as they did not interfere with the Soviets.

No records of these papers is found among the former Soviet government, it is told, by the folks of Mägi Päiväine claim to have the signed papers in the journals that chronicle life in this tiny region. The document grants Mägi Päiväine the right to be responsible for its own affairs and free from taxation from the Soviets as long as they kept to their land and did not interfere with the nearby communities.

Mägi Päiväine is home to about 100 people, living in a dozen households, who speak what many consider to be an almost dead language, Vepsa. They also speak some Karelian and Ingrian. In earlier days the Veps and Karelians, and Ingrians lived together. The lifestyle is uneventful. It cannot be said it is an easy life with Mägi Päiväine’s harsh climate. In fact, little has changed over the years. Life is simple and self-sufficient. Few have more than they can consume. Luxuries simply are not found. This is a small group of people who are close to the land. What we consider to be obligations or minor celebrations are cause for the whole nation, and I use that word loosely, to stop everything and celebrate together.

Traditions from earlier times are still alive and well in Magi Paivaine. The longest day of the year is cause of an all night feast and celebration. An after harvest feast, the tradition of May Day and a few others dot the annual calendar. Weddings bring everything to a halt for celebrating. Death stops all activities as everyone mourns. Religion is a part of everyday life. Orthodox Christian beliefs prevail but superstition is active. Watching the sky, certain celestial events are believed to affect life. The activities of certain animals and fowl indicate certain conditions. The list goes on.

Mägi Päiväine homes are fairly simple. There is a family room, kitchen, bedroom for the adults and one for the kids. Typically, a structure nearby acts as a storehouse for food. As families grow, more rooms are added.

Magi Paivaine has one store but no banks or offices. There are no Government offices, medical clinics or Churches. There is no electrical service or other conveniences. There are no police, nor is there an army.

Most merchandise is traded person to person. Religious services are held in homes. Even those selected to carry out the extremely minimal government functions operate from their homes. A school is located in a room built on to the house the teacher lives in. The quality of education is unknown but the population can read and write, using the Latin alphabet.

The Mägi Päiväine government is made up of a council of ‘ancients’ or elders who tend to the functions of government. This council elects a president who serves for a single 5 year term.

The duties of the President are varied and might be summed up as an administrator. The council acts as ruler, judge and advisor. In such a small community, the council has supreme power. There are unusual rules. For example, young men and women must choose a mate that does not live in Mägi Päiväine. This mate must agree to reside in Mägi Päiväine after marriage and must be approved. This comes via interviews with the prospective mate and a blood test. This is why many youth seek work in regional communities after schooling ends in Mägi Päiväine. Men tend to do agricultural work while the women generally work at domestic jobs.

There is no crime. Society is European in nature and in values. Most infractions are handed by the parties involved without intervention from the President who acts as judge over matters brought to him by the general population. If the decision of the President is not acceptable to one party, they may request a hearing by the full council with the decision of the council being final.

Mägi Päiväine’s Government has assigned the duty of tax collector to the President, but no taxes have ever been levied.

The President hold almost supreme powers tempered by the board but the people can call on the President’s ousting. This happened in the 1930s when the President ordered no publication or other form of media could operate without his approval. The people demanded the council act and the President was ordered to resign.

The people have small garden plots for the short growing season, much of which is canned for consumption in winter. Cattle is raised, especially for cheese and milk, although meat is much less frequent in the diet. Wheat is grown, providing flour, a staple in the diet along with cheese and milk. The primary occupation is producing wool to sell in regional communities. It can be said the people of Mägi Päiväine are neither rich nor poor. It would seem they have just what they need. This is because they are not a very materialistic society.

According to figures we have seen, Mägi Päiväine brings in about $4,364,000 in a recent year, however another figure is about 1.5 million less. We are then assuming the smaller figure to be profits versus actual income but we cannot confirm.

The Mägi Päiväine council has in recent years paid for the education of a young man and two young women. The man is now leading the church while the one of the women is schooled in education and one is now a nurse.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, Mägi Päiväine has allowed it’s hiding place to be known. The threat of the Soviet Government is gone. Still, those in Mägi Päiväine are leery of outsiders although their friendly attitudes easily chase their fears away.

Magi Paivaine has a long history of peace. In most small communities, there is an undercurrent of friction between families. These less than desirable qualities are not found here as all seem friendly and friendly. As a community they seem to realize it takes each member of the community working together to achieve the quality of life Mägi Päiväine enjoys.

One might ask why Mägi Päiväine has remained so isolated. The truth is there is little reason to publicize Mägi Päiväine. It has been queried why the citizens of Mägi Päiväine choose to stay in their isolated valley instead of returning to their homeland. The answer is simple. This is all they know. Even the memories of the oldest citizens is fading.

Local notes have been exchanged over the years using the denomination “poimda” meaning to pick, gather or harvest. It’s value is unknown and apparently never compared to other currencies to determine a specific value. It is assumed the value was determined by the person accepting the note as payment.

Coinage for use outside the community has been created recently in the denomination of 12 grains of silver or half a pennyweight. These coins have been minted since 2000, when they were released in anodized niobium, silver, bronze and copper-nickel to commemorate the year 2000. The anodized niobium was so successful, it is included in all successive mintings of 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 when bronze, copper-nickel and a different shade of anodized niobium is featured. The coins are approximately 18 millimeters and the number minted has been small.

So why does the Finnish government persist in making a joke out of 95/46 EC, which was signed by the Finnish government, and sell/give tax personal data to the press and whoever else without any protection if most people aren’t even interested in reading them?

The personal data ends up in magazines and newspapers in one of two ways. The first way is that the tax authority sells the data for about 36 cents a record “officially”. They have an order form that you can fill out listing the records that you want. The tax authority claims that they do abide by privacy protection requests a person has done in the registrar (maistraatti), which has little or no effect because of the other way the personal data ends up in the press I will explain shortly. Journalists line up in one long, chaotic line on the morning of November first to pick up their CD-ROMs of data, so they can speed back to the office and be the first to publish it.

The other way it is published is from the physical folders that are in the local branches of the tax office. Anyone off the street can go and browse tax records at the tax office. There are older (50 something or so) men with briefcases who sit there and browse tax records for hours and hours in Helsinki, according to what Kristian has told me. Veropörssi sends out their people to every tax office branch in Finland to copy those records so that they can compile and publish them. This is the route that has caused a lot of normal, everyday people problems.

I don’t know what is going to happen this year. The tax authority has assimilated all the local tax office branches into one big tax authority. The one big tax authority could suprise us and decide that they will follow 95/46/EC, since Finland has joined the EU and this is among the most basic legislation of the EU, and is legislation the Finnish government has agreed to follow. Or they can continue to make it into a big joke, despite being told by other countries, the European Commission and by people in the European Court of Justice that it is not quite right. An official judgement has not come yet from the court, however.

If the government of Finland can’t decide on its own to do the right thing, there is the impending court case, C 73/07 Satamedia, which will make things clearer. The European Commission is involved and many people have expressed their opinions about this to them as well.

It almost looks as if Satamedia will be able to turn out one more Veropörssi. If you work here in Finland and don’t want your name in it with your income, municipality, tax percentage and capital income, there is one thing you can do. The Finnish government probably won’t provide you any data protection, even if they have agreed to. The thing to do is to request (politely) directly to the publishers that they don’t publish your data. Veropörssi is the main one that ends up floating around in the internet for years. But there is no guarantee that someone else won’t publish your data, especially if your income relatively high. Google Veropörssi and you will find them. How’s that for protecting your rights?

Finland, according to this article, has about 210 M EUR in claims against Kaupthing Bank. There is some risk that some Finnish depositors will not get their money back if the Finnish government doesn’t guarantee it. Kaupthing attracted a lot of customers by offering savings accounts at 4% interest, far above the local levels inside the EU. Some other countries are experiencing grief in the billion figures, like the UK. The Netherlands also has a lot of investments. Other Icelandic names we have seen associated with banking are Glitnir, Banki Islands, and of course Kaupthing.

As one says to sick people when they are sick, I say to Iceland, “Get Well Soon”.