Reima Kuisla of Finland was hit with a $57,200 fine for driving 65 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone because speeding tickets in his country can depend on your income, and he's a millionaire.
In Finland and a handful of others countries fines for some traffic violations, as well as shoplifting or violating security exchange laws, are based on one's earnings and the more you make, the bigger the fine. That was bad news for Kuisla who got stopped in February,
according to The Atlantic.
"Finland's system for calculating fines is relatively simple: It starts with an estimate of the amount of spending money a Finn has for one day, and then divides that by two – the resulting number is considered a reasonable amount of spending money to deprive the offender of," wrote Joe Pinsker.
"Then, based on the severity of the crime, the system has rules for how many days the offender must go without that money. Going about 15 mph over the speed limit gets you a multiplier of 12 days, and going 25 mph over carries a 22-day multiplier," said Pinsker.
Kuisla, who makes roughly $6.89 million as a business man, complained about the fine on social media this month, reported
BBC News.
"Ten years ago I wouldn't have believed that I would seriously consider moving abroad," Kuisla wrote on his
Facebook page. "Finland is impossible to live in for certain kinds of people who have high incomes and wealth."
BBC News noted, though, that Kuisla didn't find much sympathy for his position there.
"If you follow the rules you won't have to pay fines," one BBC News commenter responded on the
Iltalehti newspaper website.
"Small fines won't deter the rich – fines have to 'bite' everyone the same way," another person added on social media.
BBC News reported that in 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, the director of Nokia, was hit with what was believed to be a record $103,600 fine for riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle 47 miles per hour in a 31 mph zone in Helsinski.
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