Fairer Growth Ahead

Fairer Growth Ahead – get to know SDP’s shadow budget for 2026

The shadow budget for next year proposed by the Social Democratic Party of Finland(SDP) was announced on 25 November 2025. In our shadow budget, we show that a more just economic policy than that of the Orpo governmentis possible — and that public finances can be managed in a way that builds trust instead of undermining it.

The Orpo government has chosen to give tax cuts to the highest earners, shifting the burden of balancing the economy onto those with low and middle incomes. In SDP’s alternative, the wealthy also contribute to the joint effort while tax breaks are directed at low- and middle-income workers and small entrepreneurs. In our alternative, nine out of ten Finns would be left with more money in their pockets than under the government’s plan.

The Orpo government hopes for employment and economic growth, but in practice has focused on penalizing the unemployed while largely ignoring growth measures. Petteri Orpo promised before the 2023 parliamentary elections to put an end to debt and to create 100,000 new jobs in Finnish companies. Currently, the result under his government is the fastest pace of indebtedness in Europe and the second-highest unemployment rate. Under Prime Minister Orpo’s watch, Finland is heading straight to EU’s excessive deficit procedure.

SDP’s employment and growth measures are genuinely effective. We would make even part-time work worthwhile, kickstart the construction sector again, support small businesses, secure financing for growth companies, invest in the green transition, and ensure that the necessary investments in defence industry create jobs in Finland.

Under SDP’s plan, less debt would be taken on, and employment would be strengthened more than under the Orpo government’s budget proposal. Thus, we would strengthen public finances in a fairer way. At the same time, we would uphold climate and nature goals that the government has been neglecting.
Everything can be done more fairly. When people can’t trust the future, they start saving for a rainy day. Finns must be able to trust again in the future and in their own ability to get by. Only then can Finland’s direction shift toward growth.

Highlights of the alternative budget

• We would redirect tax cuts away from the highest earners toward low- and middle-income
  earners, whose additional income is often spent on everyday necessities — thus, lowering
  their taxes also supports growth and employment. We would not abolish the tax deduction for
  trade union membership fees.
• We would introduce unemployment benefit and housing benefit exempt amounts that react to
  economic cycles. These exempt amounts will make even part-time or gig work worthwhile —
  helping people stay in working life.
• We would not cut social assistance, as the government does.
• We would invest more in public social and health services: ensuring sufficient staff for elderly
  care, guaranteeing emergency services and faster access to care. We would cancel inefficient
  private health care reimbursements and direct the money to public health care
• We would give the wellbeing services counties more time to cover deficits and respond
  decisively to difficult financial situations — helping to avoidshortsighted cuts and layoffs in the
  wellbeing services counties.
• We would introduce a new adult education allowance to enable working people to update their
  skills and raise their qualifications.
• We would allocate more funding to get young people and the long-term unemployed into work.
  We would allow the unemployed to study more broadly under unemployment benefits, so that
  those who lose their jobs can update their skills.
• We would tackle labour exploitation more strictly, for example by granting trade unions the
  right to collective lawsuitsand criminalizing underpayment of workers.
• We would support small businesses by increasing the VAT liability threshold to €30,000 and
  granting temporary tax credits to companies that hire their first employee.
• We would invest in a climate package to fight climate change and biodiversity loss.
• We would increase funding to universities, polytechnics, and vocational education

In shadow budgets, opposition parties present their alternatives for the government’s budget for the coming year, highlighting how their financial policies would differ from the current government’s.