In Finland, you pay a speeding fine based on your income
In Finland, there are no fixed fines for speeding drivers. Instead, the Nordic countries issue tickets based on the offender’s income.
The Finns use the “day fine system”. Fees are calculated by determining the offender’s available daily income – usually the daily wage divided by two. Then the amount of “daily fines” can be multiplied depending on the seriousness of the crime.
The maximum factor in Finland is 120 days, but there is no limit to the fines themselves.
“If you’re in a good job, you have a pretty high income, the ticket is higher,” one police officer told Euro News. “At least €6 (NZ$10) per day fine, so it’s always at least that, but it can go up to tens of thousands.”
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in New Zealand, the speeding ticket is $30 for a violation of less than 10 km/h up to $630.
Finland’s unusual progressive punishment system has been adopted in several European countries as a way to punish wealthy criminals who would otherwise be indifferent to fines.
In 2015, businessman Reima Kuisla was caught driving 103 km/h in an area with an 80 km/h speed limit. To calculate the fine, the Finnish authorities used his 2013 tax return, local media reported at the time.
Kuisla earned €6.5 million (NZ$11 million) that year, resulting in a €54,000 (NZ$91,000) fine. His offense was deemed to merit eight “day fines”, €6,750, adding up to a €54,000 penalty.
“Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I would seriously consider moving abroad,” Kuisla exclaimed on his Facebook page at the time. “It is impossible to live in Finland for certain types of people with high incomes and wealth.”
But the response to Kuislaa in Finnish newspapers reflected a lot of local support for the country’s “day fine” system, which has been in use since 1921.
“This says a lot about the time when the stinking rich can’t even take their fines for crimes, but immediately move out of the country,” commented one commentator in Helsingin Sanomat. “Goodbye, we won’t miss you.”