Health taxation and need to pay health related taxes in Iran: A scoping review

Background: Health care taxation is one of the government’s income sources. In Iran, despite the high consumption of harmful products, there are limitations in healthcare taxation, which may be due to the high wall of distrust between the government and taxpayers. In this study, we aimed to identify and analyze the reasons for paying health care taxes in developed countries in comparison with Iran. Methods: In this scoping review, the data were collected among the evidence published from 2000 to 2022 in English and Persian. A search strategy was conducted to find all the evidence and resources published using the selected keywords across several databases. Finally, 129 articles were confirmed to be included in the review. Results: Taxes on harmful goods, including sin taxes value, added taxes, and green taxes were among the most important and sustainable resources to improve the health care system in each country. In Iran, despite the approval of various taxes on harmful goods and polluting industries for public health reasons, these policies have not yet been implemented. Conclusion: For Iran, we recommend strictly implementing the tax policies, with allocations tailored to local conditions, to reduce the financial burden on the Iranian healthcare system.