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Counterpoint: when the fine is less then the profit made from doing the illegal action it us just the cost of doing business.

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Same thing for individuals.

I know some people who never pay for parking, public transport, or tolls, because in their case, the fine for not paying times the chance of getting caught is less than the ticket price.

I recall that some Scandinavian countries base fine amounts for traffic violations like speeding according to income.

I guess that makes it economically viable for people with less income not to follow the law.

It's actually the other way around. It's high enough to not be economically viable for anybody.

If a person's income is low enough that probability of being fined * percentage of income per fine * income is less than price of parking, then it's economically viable for them not to pay for parking and risk the fine.

On the contrary, the point is to correct for that fact that a flat-fee fine is a complete non-issue if your income is high enough. There have been times in my life when an accidental or unexpected $50 fine would impact my ability to pay rent or other essential bills that month. But now I'm not even sure I'd bother going to court to contest something that small because I just wouldn't care enough to spend the time or emotional investment.

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