Government plans to double fine rates
In an effort to encourage people to behave more lawfully, the government intends to raise fines in the coming years. The Ministry of Justice would also link the fines to, for example, the minimum wage or the average wage, so that in the future there would be no need to increase the fines incrementally in the future.
The Ministry of the Interior has proposed to the Ministry of Justice that fines be increased in the coming years. Beginning the following year, this would generate approximately €16 million in additional revenue for the government.
Under the government's initial proposal, the current fine of €4 would be increased to €8. In a similar manner, the fine would increase from €5 to €10. This implies, for instance, that the fine for speeding will be doubled in the future.
Right now, the fine unit for a misdemeanor is a fixed figure, meaning that it is the same regardless of income. Justice Minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) said that indexing the rates would be a better idea.
"One approach would be to tie it to the minimum wage, while another would be to link it to the average wage and then calculate what the base, minimum option would be. This could be done so that the law does not need to be updated every time the economic climate or standard of living changes, but instead updates itself automatically," Laanet said.
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Editor: Barbara Oja, Kristina Kersa
