Kari S. Tikka

Kari Sulo Tikka (born 21 August 1944 in Lahti - died 25 May 2006 in Helsinki) was a Finnish legal scholar. He was Professor of Finance Law at the University of Helsinki and one of Finland's leading experts on taxation.

Career

Kari S. Tikka had a long career in justice education and development of education, both in the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He had also previously worked as chairman of the Finnish Lawyer Union.

Tikka was a member of several law preparation work groups, and had a central influence in the development of Finnish taxation law. Among his achievements are the system for refunding corporate tax, which was later abandoned, as taxing Finnish and foreign dividends differently became contrary to the European Union basic treaty.

Before his death, Tikka publicly announced his support for the flat tax. He proposed that different taxation of capital income and work income widens the financial gap between corporate shareholders and regular workers.

Kari S. Tikka wrote several scientific articles and books, among which are "Veropolitiikka" ("taxation policy") and "Yritysverotus I-II" ("corporate taxation I-II"), together with O. Nykänen. His PhD thesis "Veron minimoinnista" ("on the minimisation of tax") was at its time one of Finland's best selling PhD theses.

Death

Tikka was found dead in his apartment on 28 May 2006. He was 61 years old at the time. Police investigations revealed that he had been the victim of a homicide. The night before his death, Tikka had left a gay nightclub called DTM on Iso-Roobertinkatu, Helsinki, with two men of approximately 20 years of age.

The Helsinki police arrested two men suspected of the killing, a 19-old Russian Aleksandr Ionin and a 23-year-old Estonian Mika-Martti Zukov, on May 29. According to the police the homicide had nothing to do with Tikka's profession. The motive was robbery. In court Ionin and Zukov admitted that they had stolen 15 bottles of alcohol, 49 packs of cigarettes, a mobile phone cover, a pocket knife, one pair of binoculars, a video camera, and some cash.

The trial started on September 26, 2006, in Helsinki District Court. Prosecutor Harri Ilander demanded a life imprisonment for Ionin and Zukov for murder and an aggravated mugging. Ionin and Zukov pleaded guilty on charges of manslaughter.

On October 10, 2006 district court sentenced Ionin and Zukov to 11 years in prison for manslaughter and aggravated robbery.

Prosecutor Ilander expressed his disappointment in the sentence, but made no decision on appealing against the verdict to the Court of appeal.

Private life

In his private life, Tikka embraced art by collecting paintings and watching ballet and theatre. His collection included works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall.

His sexuality was sort of a public secret in Helsinki, as he did not conceal his frequenting in gay nightclubs, but the subject never came up in press or interviews. After Tikka's death, his homosexuality was however mentioned in stories about him. [ [http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Good+gays+-+bad+gays/1135220176406 Impact of killing of Kari S. Tikka in Helsinki gay community (Helsingin Sanomat, international edition)] ]

Bibliography

* Tikka, Kari S. (1990). "Veropolitiikka". Publications of the Lawyers' Union. ISBN 9516404944
* Tikka, Kari S., and Nykänen, Olli (1985). "Yritysverotus 1". WSOY. ISBN 951-0-12664-0.
* Tikka, Kari S., and Nykänen, Olli (1985). "Yritysverotus 2". WSOY. ISBN 951-0-12657-8.

External links

* Helsingin Sanomat (fi icon: [http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/artikkeli/Professori+Kari+S+Tikka+surmattu/1135220064537 Kari S. Tikka killed]
* Helsingin Sanomat en icon: [http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Eleven+years+imprisonment+for+manslaughter+of+Prof+Tikka/1135222228109 Eleven years' imprisonment for manslaughter of Prof. Tikka]

Links to statements by Kari S. Tikka

* [http://www.kauppalehti.fi/4/i/uutiset/etusivu/juttu.jsp?oid=2006/05/26/1917516 Kauppalehti May 26 2006, on inheritance taxation] fi icon

Links to miscellaneous writings by Kari S. Tikka

* [http://www.ateneum.fi/default.asp?docId=13600 The many-voiced Ateneum] fi icon

References