ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN FINLAND Establishing business in Finland Timo Klimoff, expert, labour and business services ELY Centre Satakunta 29.11.2018

The best countries for business (Forbes 2015) Denmark New Zealand Norway Ireland Sweden Finland Canada Singapore Netherlands United Kingdom

Residence permits Citizens of the EU/EEA member states: If you are a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland you will not require a residence permit for Finland. Non EU citizen or equivalent: To be allowed to move to Finland for longer than 90 days, you need a residence permit. A residence permit may be granted on certain grounds: studying, working, self-employment, family-ties.. To obtain a residence permit, you must be able to make your own living in Finland. More information: The Finnish Immigration Service www.migri.fi

Forms/entities of business Business ID + tax registry + trade register = Y-forms The most common forms of business in Finland: Sole proprietorship/private trader (one entrepreneur) General partnership (min. 2 partners) Limited partnership (min. 1 active partner & 1 silent partner) Limited liability company (min. capital 2500 €) Co-operative

Permits Enterprise Finland -> Permits In addition to normal establisment measures: Some businesses need a licence or permit. Some businesses need a notification. Some businesses need a specific registration.

Taxation The taxation of a business consists of tax payments and declarations: - Value added tax must be paid on sales. - Taxes withheld at source and social security contributions must be paid from wages paid by companies. - A company’s income tax is determined as based on profit. - A company must disclose VAT and income taxation information to the Tax Administration. In addition, entrepreneurs must pay personal income tax from their wages and dividends.

Grants and loans Start-up grant Employment and Economic Development Office Business development subsidy ELY Centre Launching support for rural areas Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland 2014–2020 Guarantees and Loans Finnvera

Invest in Finland Existing company trying to find business opportunities in Finland? Invest in Finland is the government agency that promotes foreign investments into Finland. They assist international companies in finding business opportunities in Finland and provide all the relevant information and guidance required to establish a business in Finland. More information: Invest in Finland, Finpro Oy http://www.investinfinland.fi

More information Enterprise Finland (Yritys-Suomi): https://yrityssuomi.fi/en/ + Enterprise Finland Guidance Service helps via telephone, webform and Facebook. Finnish Patent And Registration Office (PRH): https://www.prh.fi/en/index.html Finnish Tax Administration (Vero): http://www.vero.fi/en-US Finnish Enterprise Agencies (Uusyrityskeskukset): http://uusyrityskeskus.fi/fi/neuvontamateriaalit (guides in several languages)

KIITOS! TACK! GIITU! THANK YOU!