For example, the prices on the menus at restaurants run by Helsinki's Linnamäki amusement park and at Tampere's Särkänniemi amusement park will not change even though the Tourism and Restaurant Industries Federation has urged members to pass savings to their customers.
Linnamäki's CEO Risto Räikkönen told YLE that changing prices mid-season would only confuse customers.
"We set our prices at the beginning of the season. They will be used through this season, completely independent of what happens to the value-added tax," said Räikkönen.
Lower VAT probably won't bring much joy to fast-food fans either. The McDonald's chain will not be lowing prices in line with recommendations. It will bring down the prices of some more popular items, a move it says will make up for lower VAT.
Finland's Consumers' Association is not pleased. It says that the change in VAT is on all products and should be applied to all prices.
"We should start from pricing policy being transparent everywhere. Everyone should see that prices fall on the first of July to the same extent as the reduction in VAT," the Consumers' Association's head, Krista Kiuru, pointed out.
The Association has no understanding for the move McDonald's has announced.
"A selective discount seems strange. It is impossible for people to follow what a product costs," continues Kiuru.
Little consumer benefit
It is possible that the impact on restaurant prices from lower VAT will remain as small as seen after an earlier cut in value-added tax on barber and hairdresser services. Economics Professor Matti Virén of the University of Turku says that only a quarter of savings was passed on to consumers.
According to the National Consumer Research Centre, a reduction of VAT on foodstuffs last year did not end up in the pockets of supermarket owners. However, Professor Virén says it will be different for restaurants.
"One has to remember that usually cafes and restaurants have some sort of a monopoly in their areas," explains Virén,
Successful lobbying
Virén is also not convinced by a list put together by the Tourism and Restaurant Industries Federation of 3600 restaurants that have pledged to cut prices when VAT falls. There are about 10,000 restaurants in the country.
Professor Virén points to examples in other countries showing that lower taxes have not really led to lower prices.
"In France, the hotel and restaurant federation made a strong commitment to the change, but in practice the change was small."
In Virén's view there is no sense in lowering restaurant VAT because the state economy is in deficit.
"We know precisely that next year there will be huge pressure to raise taxes. It seems absurd to cut taxes now when they will have to be raised many times over next year. It is difficult to believe that this will bring any permanent change," argues Matti Virén.
"The only thing this will affect is the profitability of restaurants. In that respect, restaurants were successful in their lobbying."
