Examining the Problems and Solutions to Facilitate the Payment and Receipt of Health Taxes

Mahdi  Kooshkebaghi; Hossein  Dargahi; Sara  Emamgholipour

doi:10.18502/ijph.v53i5.15596

Mahdi Kooshkebaghi Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hossein Dargahi Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sara Emamgholipour Health Information Management Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i5.15596

Keywords: Problems and solutions; Facilitate; Payment and receipt; Health tax

Abstract

Background: In addition to creating significant health gains, taxation can be used to increase public health funding. However, achieving the goals of health-related taxes faces many barriers and problems. We aimed to examine the barriers and solutions to facilitate the payment and receipt of health taxes.

Methods: The present descriptive and analytical study was conducted in 2021-2022. The first part of the research was the questionnaire's design and validation, and the second part was using the designed questionnaire to collect and analyze data. The validity of the questionnaire was measured using the content validity, and the reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach's alpha. Then, the questionnaires were distributed in person at the workplace of 430 professors, managers, and experts in economics and health, and the collected data were reviewed and analyzed.

Results: Barriers and problems related to structure and infrastructure, evasion, avoidance, and tax exemption, and coordination and cooperation are the most important problems related to health taxes. Moreover, evasion, avoidance and tax exemption, cultural and social issues, and coordination and cooperation are the most important solutions to overcome the problems of health taxes.

Conclusion: To dispel the barriers and facilitate the payment and receipt of health-related taxes and achieve the goals of the health sectors, it is very important to deal with tax evasion, build a culture, and close cooperation with related organizations.