Syrian Refugee Update: Finland Raising Taxes To Create Provision For Refugees [VIDEO]
As the Syrian refugee crisis intensifies in Europe, governments are taking various steps to deal with the situation.
In the latest of such measures, Finland's administration has decided to raise taxes on the wealthy to budget for the heavy expenses which come with taking care of the refugees. According to a report by Trust.org, Finland is taking this big steps in preparation of a ten-fold increase in refugees.
Even though, Finland's own economy is in a bit of a precarious situation, with joblessness on the rise, the finance minister, Alexander Stubb, made the announcement to raise the taxes on Sept. 10.
Stubb made the announcement in a news conference.
"These will help to cover higher immigration costs which we estimate to be about 114 million euros this year," he said.
Meanwhile, the exemplar in Europe, Germany has set aside $6.8 billion for the refugees.
The nation's magnanimity in the Syrian refugee crisis stands in stark contrast to how other European countries and England have been behaving. Austria has also been taking a great share of the burden along with Germany by opening its borders to the refugees.
German Secretary-General Yasmin Fahimi spoke to NBC about how important it was for them to show compassion in this great hour of need for a embattled community.
"We had to give a strong signal of humanity to show that Europe's values are valid also in difficult times. Hungary's handling of the crisis is unbearable," she said.
Although Merkel is tyring to build solidarity and encouraging other nations to take in more refugees, other countries haven't been as forthcoming. David Cameron recently revealed that he would be willing to take in 20,000 refugees over the next five years. France has agreed to giving shelter to 24,000.
