Raising the soft drinks tax
Act amending the annex to the Act on Excise Duty on Soft Drinks
The tax on soft drinks will rise, increasing shop prices especially for sugary drinks. The tax increase will boost state revenue and encourage consumers to choose sugar-free drinks.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 4 Oct 2018
- Latest event
- 4 Dec 2018
- Votes
- 4
- Speeches
- 21
- Confirmed
- 14 Dec 2018
- Statute
- 1118/2018
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The excise duty on soft drinks will be increased with an emphasis on sugary drinks: the tax on drinks containing more than 0.5 per cent sugar will rise from 22 cents to 27 cents per litre, and on other soft drinks from 11 cents to 12 cents per litre. Taxation of drink powders and similar substances will also be increased.
What it means
The act will enter into force on 1 January 2019. Retail prices of sugary drinks are estimated to rise by an average of around 3 per cent and sugar-free drinks by around 1 per cent, affecting consumers who buy soft drinks and beverage companies. The tax increase will increase state tax revenue by around 25 million euros a year.
How Parliament voted
2nd reading · 28 Nov 2018Parliament passed the act by 109–57.
The Greens, the SPP and the Christian Democrats voted with the government. 33 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. The seating plan at the time of this vote is not archived, so MPs are grouped by party in indicative seats.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 14 Dec 2018.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
21 speeches · 13 speakers · 3 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate focused on the increase in the soft drinks tax, its fiscal grounds, and the fairness of how the tax is targeted. The government parties supported the proposal to safeguard central government revenue and curb sugar consumption, even though they acknowledged technical definition issues in the taxation. The opposition called for the proposal to be rejected or amended, arguing that the tax treats the domestic juice industry and berry production unfairly in the absence of a genuine health-based tax.
- Does the proposed soft drinks tax unfairly treat the domestic juice industry and berry purées?
- Should a broad-based health tax be enacted instead of a targeted soft drinks tax?
- Should a separate tax on harmful products be introduced for energy drinks as part of the soft drinks tax?
- National Coalition PartyIn favour with reservations
The group's speaker considered it problematic that a purely fiscal tax burdens the domestic juice industry and healthy purées due to customs tariff code issues.
”Tässäkin on kyseessä fiskaalinen perusta, 25 miljoonaa euroa, ja on tietysti huono asia se, että kotimainen pieni mehuteollisuus joutuu tästä ikään kuin kärsimään.”
— Eero Suutari - Centre PartyIn favour
The group supported the increase in the soft drinks tax because it generates revenue for the state and steers consumption away from harmful sugary drinks to curb obesity among young people.
”Mutta kaikesta tästä huolimatta minusta virvoitusjuomaveroon on sinänsä kyllä hyvät perusteet, vaikka sen suuntaamiseen liittyy näitä ongelmia.”
— Pekka Puska - Blue ReformIn favour
The group supported the proposal and considered that the steering effect of the tax would be strengthened by the higher increase on sugary drinks, even though targeting taxes on health grounds is challenging.
”Mutta kuitenkin lähdettiin siitä, että veron ohjausvaikutus tällä tavalla vahvistuu, kun nimenomaan sokeripitoisissa juomissa se veronkorotus on selvästi suurempi.”
— Simon Elo - Social DemocratsAgainst
The group called for the proposal to be rejected, regarding it as merely a fiscal selective tax that damages the domestic berry and juice industry and even penalises berry purées for children instead of being a genuine health tax.
”Emme voi hyväksyä sitä, että valtiovarainvaliokunnasta tulee ulos tällainen kaikkien oikeustajua ja tervettä järkeä loukkaava Bona-vero.”
— Timo Harakka - Christian DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The group considered health-based taxation important and put forward a statement calling for energy drinks to be brought separately into the scope of taxes on harmful products.
”Eduskunta edellyttää, että hallitus ryhtyy toimenpiteisiin energiajuomia koskevan haittaveron käyttöönottamiseksi osana virvoitusjuomaveroa.”
— Päivi Räsänen
This digest was generated by AI from 21 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin valtiovarainvaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 166/2018 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 4 Oct 2018Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Valtiovarainministeriö
- 9 Oct 2018Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 13 Nov 2018Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · valtiovarainvaliokunta
- 21 Nov 2018Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 28 Nov 2018Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 30 Nov 2018Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki virvoitusjuomaverosta annetun lain liitteen muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 1118/2018 · 14 Dec 2018
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki virvoitusjuomaverosta annetun lain liitteen muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan virvoitusjuomaverosta annetun lain (1127/2010) liite, sellaisena kuin se on laissa 1535/2016, seuraavasti:
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Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 2 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.