The parking permit prices of the University of Eastern Finland will be revised, effective from 1 September 2019. Helsinki Administrative Court has issued a decision according to which handing parking spaces over to staff and students constitutes an activity which, in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act, is subject to VAT.
“The value added tax is 24%, and approximately half of this will be added to the parking permit prices effective from 1 September. By covering the other half of the share, we wish to meet staff and students halfway,” Director of Administration Tuomo Meriläinen says.
The price increase does not take the effect of maintenance costs and cost-of-living index separately into consideration.
From September onwards, the price of a permanent staff parking permit is 123 euros/12 months. The price takes the summer months’ free parking into consideration. The price of a fixed-term staff parking permit is 17 euros/month.
The price increase will be automatically implemented in invoicing from September onwards.
The price of a permanent student parking permit is 100 euros/12 months. The price of a fixed-term student parking permit is 13 euros/month. A student parking permit entitles to parking in areas reserved for student parking.
The price of a parking space with electricity is 190 euros/12 months as a permanent permit, or 34 euros/month as a fixed-term permit. The additional costs of the five-month heater-use period (November-March) has been taken into consideration in the prices.
The price of short-term parking (including VAT) remains unchanged. Short-term parking costs 1 euros/hour, but will not exceed 6 euros/day.
Pay parking does not concern maintenance parking, disabled parking, rental car parking or parking by clinical patients arriving at the university.
The University of Eastern Finland introduced pay parking on 1 September 2018. Handing parking spaces over to staff and students is, as a rule, regarded as an activity subject to value added tax. The university made a written request for guidance regarding the VAT procedure in parking to the Finnish Tax Administration in spring 2018. Helsinki Administrative Court issued a decision on 18 April 2019 (19/0378/1 dnro 04318/18/8203) according to which handing parking spaces over to staff and students constitutes an activity subject to value added tax, in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act, Section 29(1), paragraph 5.
Changes to the parking prices as a table