Mining 2026

FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Marius af Schultén, Fiiu Linninen and Konsta Peussa, Castrén & Snellman

the extracted mining mineral is brought to the surface, whereas under the previously applicable regulations, the tax was assessed at the time of extraction. Min - ing minerals extracted at a mine where the mineral in question is neither recovered nor produced, nor delivered elsewhere for recovery or production, are now exempt from tax. However, if the mineral is later recovered, it becomes subject to taxation. The 2026 amendment also reversed the distribution of tax revenues between the State and the municipali - ties: the State’s share has risen from 60% to 70% and the municipalities’ share has fallen from 40% to 30%. General Tax Liabilities Mining companies in Finland are generally also sub - ject to corporate income tax (with the income tax rate currently being 20%), value-added tax (with the gen - eral VAT rate currently being 25.5%), energy taxes, and real estate tax under the same statutory frame- work applicable to other business entities. Finnish tax legislation does not differentiate between Finnish and foreign investors, meaning that a foreign investor who is liable to pay tax in Finland under the applicable double tax treaty or, alternatively, Finnish tax laws, must pay taxes according to the same principles as domestic investors. 4.2 Tax Incentives for Mining Investors and Projects The excise duty on electricity in Finland is divided into two tax brackets: the general electricity Tax Bracket I is 2.24 cents per kilowatt-hour, while the lower Tax Bracket II is only 0.05 cents per kilowatt-hour. Elec - tricity used in mining has previously been taxed at the lower rate of Tax Bracket II, which was effectively a tax subsidy. However, following the legislative amend - ment to the Act on Excise Duty on Electricity and Cer - tain Fuels (1118/2025) that entered into force on 1 January 2026, mining electricity has been moved to general Tax Bracket I, which has increased the price of electricity for the mining sector by 2.19 cents per kilowatt-hour and resulted in an almost forty-five-fold increase in the electricity excise duty. No other tax incentives for mining operations are available in Fin - land.

Tax stabilisation agreements are not used in Finland. Fundamental rights, such as the rule of law, the princi - ple of legality, and the protection of legitimate expec - tations, form the foundation of Finnish taxation, and the possible retroactive tax legislation is monitored by the Constitutional Law Committee. Taxpayers can obtain certainty regarding their tax position by seeking advance positions or binding advance rulings from the Finnish Tax Administration. 4.3 Transfer Tax and Capital Gains on the Sale of Mining Projects Companies with a general tax liability in Finland pay tax on profits arising from the sale of assets such as shares or other assets (eg, real estate). The capital gain is calculated as the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price plus other costs and is taxed as part of the entity’s normal corporate income taxation. The applicable corporate tax rate in Finland is currently 20%. The right to tax capital gains of entities with limited tax liability is usually stipulated in appli - cable double tax treaties. Capital gains are generally taxable for foreign entities if the capital gain can be attributed to a permanent establishment established in Finland. Finland also taxes profits derived from the disposal of real estate or shares in a limited liability company, whether the company is resident in Finland or non-resident, where more than 50% of the total assets either directly or indirectly consist of real estate located in the country. However, the applicable double tax treaty may restrict or prohibit the right to tax the transfer of real estate, and the taxation right must thus always be confirmed in the applicable tax treaty. In Finland, transfer tax is levied at a rate of 4% on transfers of real estate and 1.5% on transfers of shares. Transfer tax is calculated on the basis of the purchase price or other consideration (agreed in favour of the seller). The transferee is liable for trans - fer tax. As a general rule, transfer tax is not payable on transfers where neither party is generally tax-liable in Finland, with the exception of transfers where the object of the transaction is real estate or shares in a company whose activities, either directly or indirectly, consist primarily of owning or managing real estate.

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