Finland’s Tax Administration has revealed widespread tax evasion in the country’s food service sector following a nationwide audit that uncovered €11 million in unpaid taxes from pizza, kebab, and Chinese restaurants. The findings have prompted criminal referrals for more than half of the 373 businesses inspected between early 2023 and autumn 2025.
According to officials, 198 restaurants — about 53 percent of those audited — were found to have committed serious financial irregularities, leading to police referrals for possible criminal prosecution. The investigation, part of Finland’s intensified campaign against the grey economy, primarily targeted small and medium-sized establishments offering fast food and ethnic cuisine.
Tarja Valsi, Director of Grey Economy Control at the Tax Administration, said the operation was based on risk analysis identifying sectors most prone to tax evasion.
“Our findings confirm that the most common tax-dodging restaurants are small or medium-sized bars, pizzerias, and kebab outlets,” Valsi noted. “The risk-based targeting has clearly been effective.”
Auditors discovered €18.3 million in unreported income, resulting in €4.8 million in unpaid value-added tax, €2 million in missing wages, and €1 million in unpaid withholding taxes. A further €2.5 million was imposed in income tax on disguised dividends.
Authorities also issued 450 additional reports to other agencies, highlighting potential benefit fraud, unpaid pension contributions, and suspected money laundering.
Valsi said the results mirror findings from a similar nationwide audit conducted a decade earlier.
“Little seems to have improved over the past ten years,” she said. “Most businesses do operate properly, but misconduct remains widespread.”
The report further indicated that non-compliance was significantly higher among foreign-owned restaurants than Finnish-owned ones. Common violations included failing to record sales in official cash registers, underreporting income from delivery apps, paying staff off the books, and manipulating payment systems to hide revenue.
In some cases, auditors found businesses listing all sales as cash transactions despite lacking equivalent funds, while others used company accounts for personal spending or diverted profits to private bank accounts.
Valsi emphasized that the agency’s goal is not only enforcement but also fairness.
“Neglecting obligations creates a cost advantage, allowing prices to be set far below those of compliant businesses,” she said. “Our aim is to ensure fair taxation for all.”
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