diff --git a/git-flow-feature b/git-flow-feature
index 6cb635a..4cb5c52 100644
--- a/git-flow-feature
+++ b/git-flow-feature
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 usage() {
 	echo "usage: git flow feature [list] [-v]"
 	echo "       git flow feature start [-Fv] <name> [<base>]"
-	echo "       git flow feature finish [-rsFv] <name|nameprefix> [<base>]"
+	echo "       git flow feature finish [-rsFv] <name|nameprefix>"
 	echo "       git flow feature publish <name>"
 	echo "       git flow feature track <name>"
 	echo "       git flow feature diff <name|nameprefix>"
@@ -148,7 +148,6 @@
 
 	# read arguments into global variables
 	NAME="$1"
-	BASE="${2:-$DEVELOP_BRANCH}"
 	BRANCH=$PREFIX$NAME
 }
 
@@ -156,6 +155,7 @@
 	DEFINE_boolean fetch false 'fetch from origin before performing local operation' F
 	DEFINE_boolean force false 'force creation of feature branch (ignores dirty working tree)' f
 	parse_args "$@"
+	BASE="${2:-$DEVELOP_BRANCH}"
 	require_name
 
 	# sanity checks
@@ -248,24 +248,22 @@
 	if has $ORIGIN/$BRANCH $REMOTE_BRANCHES; then
 		gitflow_require_branches_equal $BRANCH $ORIGIN/$BRANCH
 	fi
-	if [ "$BASE" = "$DEVELOP_BRANCH" ]; then
-		gitflow_require_branches_equal $DEVELOP_BRANCH $ORIGIN/$DEVELOP_BRANCH
-	fi
+	gitflow_require_branches_equal $DEVELOP_BRANCH $ORIGIN/$DEVELOP_BRANCH
 
 	# if the user wants to rebase, do that first
 	if flag rebase; then
-		if ! git flow feature rebase "$NAME" "$BASE"; then
+		if ! git flow feature rebase "$NAME" "$DEVELOP_BRANCH"; then
 			warn "Finish was aborted due to conflicts during rebase."
 			warn "Please finish the rebase manually now."
 			warn "When finished, re-run:"
-			warn "    git flow feature finish '$NAME' '$BASE'"
+			warn "    git flow feature finish '$NAME' '$DEVELOP_BRANCH'"
 			exit 1
 		fi
 	fi
 
 	# merge into BASE
-	git checkout $BASE
-	if [ "$(git rev-list -n2 $BASE..$BRANCH | wc -l)" -eq 1 ]; then
+	git checkout $DEVELOP_BRANCH
+	if [ "$(git rev-list -n2 $DEVELOP_BRANCH..$BRANCH | wc -l)" -eq 1 ]; then
 		git merge --ff $BRANCH
 	else
 		git merge --no-ff $BRANCH
@@ -273,9 +271,9 @@
 
 	if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
 		# oops.. we have a merge conflict!
-		# write the given $BASE to a temporary file (we need it later)
+		# write the given $DEVELOP_BRANCH to a temporary file (we need it later)
 		mkdir -p "$GIT_DIR/.gitflow"
-		echo "$BASE" > "$GIT_DIR/.gitflow/MERGE_BASE"
+		echo "$DEVELOP_BRANCH" > "$GIT_DIR/.gitflow/MERGE_BASE"
 		echo
 		echo "There were merge conflicts. To resolve the merge conflict manually, use:"
 		echo "    git mergetool"
@@ -304,10 +302,10 @@
 
 	echo
 	echo "Summary of actions:"
-	echo "- The feature branch '$BRANCH' was merged into '$BASE'"
+	echo "- The feature branch '$BRANCH' was merged into '$DEVELOP_BRANCH'"
 	#echo "- Merge conflicts were resolved"		# TODO: Add this line when it's supported
 	echo "- Feature branch '$BRANCH' has been removed"
-	echo "- You are now on branch '$BASE'"
+	echo "- You are now on branch '$DEVELOP_BRANCH'"
 	echo
 }
 
@@ -380,5 +378,5 @@
 	if flag interactive; then
 		OPTS="$OPTS -i"
 	fi
-	git rebase $OPTS "$BASE"
+	git rebase $OPTS "$DEVELOP_BRANCH"
 }