Finland Supreme Administrative Court Clarifies VAT Treatment of Public Lending Remuneration

The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court March 19 posted online Decision No. KHO:2026:16, clarifying the VAT treatment of public lending remuneration. The taxpayer, a collective management organization, received lending remuneration from the state budget and distributed it to authors based on actual library loans. The Central Tax Board held that the remuneration constituted consideration for a taxable supply of services. On appeal, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Central Tax Board’s decision, finding that: 1) the lending remuneration was based on an identifiable service, namely the transfer of lending rights; 2) there was a direct link between the service and the ...