Self-medication Tax System Based on Vital Statistics: Exploration through Survey

Abstract

The self-medication tax system is a new tax policy system that came into effect in 2017. The dissemination of this tax system is expected to promote changes in the people’s behavior toward self-medication and contribute to the optimization of healthcare costs. This study aimed to conduct an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey on the self-medication tax system for 3,000 people, assigned based on vital statistics in an online survey system, and extract the reality of and issues surrounding the tax system. The results showed that approximately 55％ of the survey participants were aware of the self-medication tax system, but only 6％ were aware of all the application requirements for the tax system. This indicated that there was a misunderstanding among those who were familiar with the tax system. In addition, among the conditions for applying the system, the percentage of switch from over the counter drug purchases that met the application requirements was significantly lower than those of the other two requirements. Furthermore, 103 survey participants had received income deductions under the self-medication tax system, indicating that some potential applicants meet all the application requirements. The self-medication tax system was partially revised on January 1, 2022, with the application procedure partially simplified and the target products expanded. It is expected that these revisions will henceforth serve as a driving force to promote self-medication and popularize this tax system.