Liability to Finnish income tax is to be expected if one sets up a subsidiary or branch office in Finland. However, liability may still accrue in the absence of such conscious acts of establishment. Even where the majority of trade occurs across national borders, in many cases auxiliary personnel and material resources are also used in Finland. The use of such resources may be enough to trigger liability to Finnish income tax. All too often this comes as a surprise to the foreign enterprise.

One would think that in terms of commercial management VAT issues are purely routine as long as the necessary formalities are observed when issuing invoices. Unfortunately, this is only the theory. Where cross-border transactions are concerned, it is necessary to explore and use all possible arrangements in order to avoid incurring financial loss:

The rules on the taxation of international assignments are complex and often difficult to grasp, not only for the individual taxpayer but also for the authorities involved. This article draws attention to the problems affecting international assignments provides an overview of the basic rules under Finnish law as well as the most common provisions in double taxation agreements.