Going 46 miles per hour in a 31-mph zone, Nokia executive Anssa Vanjoki could set the record for the costliest ever speeding ticket – a $103,000 fine, the Associated Press reported. Vanjoki, a 45-year-old executive vice president of Nokia’s mobile phones division, is fighting to get the fine reduced. He was fined for speeding on an island near Helsinki last October, chief police inspector Olli Yliskoski said. In Finland, traffic fines are not solely based on the seriousness of the infringement, but they’re also tied to the offender’s income – and there’s no limit. Vanjoki’s fine was based on his net income in 1999, when he reportedly made $5.2 million because of option sales. He has appealed for the fine to be based on his income in 2000, when his gross income dropped from more than $12.4 million to about $970,000, according to tax authorities. The case goes to court next month. In a similar incident last year, a Helsinki court cut a traffic fine levied against Internet millionaire Jaakko Rytsola for switching lanes too often, from $45,000 to $119 after his income showed a dramatic drop. Earlier, Rytsola paid a $74,600 traffic fine, reportedly the highest ever in Finland. Yliskoski said Finnish authorities are considering changing the way incomes are used in determining the fines.
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