Background and aim Being the major source of revenue and essential economic tool for policymakers to improve public health, taxes contribute to government spending on the development of health care facilities and services. Given the financial challenges facing the health sector together with the public health issues that affect each society, placing specific taxes on some goods, services, and activities can be effective in this regard. The study aims to explain the various dimensions of specific taxes in the health sector and management of these resources in order to achieve the health system goals. Materials and methods This study with a qualitative research design was conducted using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions in 2020–2021. In total, 38 managers, policymakers, economists, key experts, and other individuals, as informants, were interviewed. Purposive and snowball with maximum variation was also employed. As well, content analysis was utilized to shed light on the data. The transcribed interviews were further imported into MAXQDA for extracting and classifying the relevant codes. Findings In this study, 5 main themes and 23 subthemes were labeled. The main themes accordingly included “Objectives and Conditions of Specific Health Taxes”, “Earmarked Taxes”, “Taxes on Goods and Measures of Harmful to Health”, “Value-Added Taxes”, and “Green Taxes”. Discussion and conclusion Considering the specific taxes in the health sector, i.e., taxes on goods and measures of harmful to health, value-added taxes, and green taxes, all taxation and pricing policies need to take account of the effects as well as the advantages and disadvantages of types of taxes, a country’s economic structure, the conditions of industries and manufacturing enterprises, cultural aspects in society, and peoples’ socioeconomic status.
Background and aim Levying a tax on harmful products, services, and practices can affect consumer choices, effectively preventing diseases and reducing health care costs. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of taxation as a powerful financial tool in the management of harmful products, services, and practices to maintain and improve public health and preserve the financial sustainability of the health care system. Materials and methods This qualitative study was conducted in 2020–2021. In order to collect information for this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Using purposive and snowball sampling methods, 38 managers, policymakers, economists, and key experts were interviewed. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. The transcribed interviews were further imported into MAXQDA for classification, and relevant codes were extracted. Findings In this study, 6 main themes and 19 subthemes were labeled. The main themes included 1) objectives, effects, and requirements of the taxation of harmful products, services, and practices, 2) definition, instances, elasticity, and grading of harmful products, services, and practices, 3) Problems in controlling harmful products, services, and practices, 4) controlling harmful products, services, and practices, 5) traffic violations and accidents, and social harms, and 6) tax revenue use and the share of health care. The effects of taxing harmful products include reduced access to these products, reduced demand for harmful products, and the promotion of public health. Conclusion Harmful products, services, and practices have major health and financial implications for individuals, families, and society. To improve public health, the demand for these products and services can be controlled through taxation measures to push consumers toward less harmful alternatives.
Background: Taxes on unhealthy goods, in addition to reducing the consumption of these goods, preventing related diseases, and promoting public health, can provide significant financial resources for the health sector. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the problems and solutions of taxation to control the consumption of unhealthy goods to improve public health. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in 2021. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were held to collect information. Sampling was performed by purposive and snowball methods with 31 managers and key experts. The data were analyzed using the content analysis method. MAXQDA software (version 12) was used for classification and coding. Results: This study labeled 2 main themes and 10 subthemes. The main themes included problems of controlling unhealthy goods and solutions to controlling unhealthy goods. Poor decision-making, planning, and execution, production-related problems, smuggling and poor supervision, increased consumption of harmful goods, conflicts of interest, and advertisements of unhealthy goods are the most important of these problems. Imposing taxes, duties, and price hikes, providing alternatives, paying attention to all determinants of supply and demand, and taxation on advertising are also solutions to control unhealthy products. Conclusions: The health level of individuals should be improved by imposing taxes on unhealthy goods, determining accurate tax rates, and simultaneously using measures, such as providing alternatives to unhealthy goods and controlling advertisements. Paying serious attention to the list of harmful goods, coordination and cooperation of related organizations in formulating and implementing tax policies, and providing suitable alternatives to harmful products are the practical suggestions of this study.
Background and Aim: Levying a tax on harmful products, services, and practices can impact consumer choices, effectively preventing diseases and reducing healthcare costs by reducing demand, changing consumption patterns, and encouraging healthier lifestyles. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of taxation as a powerful financial tool in the management of harmful products, services, and practices with the purpose of maintaining and improving public health and preserving the financial sustainability of the healthcare system. Materials and Methods The present study is a qualitative research that was conducted in 2020-21. In order to collect information, semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used. Using purposive and snowball sampling methods, 38 managers, policymakers, economists and key experts, were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis method and the transcribed interviews were further imported into MAXQDA for classification and relevant codes were extracted. Findings: In this study, 6 main themes and 19 subthemes were labeled. The main themes accordingly included 1- Objectives, effects, and requirements of the taxation of harmful products, services, and practices 2- Definition, instances, and grading of harmful products, services, and practices 3- Challenges and problems in controlling harmful products, services, and practices 4- Controlling harmful products, services, and practices 5- Traffic violations and accidents and social harms 6- Tax revenue use and the share of healthcare. Discussion and Conclusion: Harmful products, services, and practices tend to have major health and financial implications for individuals, families and society. In order to improve public health, the demand for these products and services can be controlled through taxation measures so as to push consumers toward less harmful alternatives.
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