The Health Department is not considering using alcohol and other sin taxes to help fund the country’s healthcare sector. This, says a BusinessLIVE report, is according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize‚ who was responding to a parliamentary question posed by the leader of Al Jama-aha‚ Mogamad Ganief Ebrahim Hendrick.
Mkhize said his department had previously looked at using alcohol and other sin taxes to help fund the healthcare sector but the National Treasury was reluctant to accept the proposal. It has, however, earmarked such funds. “The earmarking is usually legislated and would usually lead to all or a portion of the funds being used to finance healthcare services in general or a specific aspect of healthcare‚ for example, messaging on the harmful effects of alcohol. This legislative mandate lies with the Minister of Finance‚” said Mkhize.
He said that, historically, the Health Department had raised the earmarking of sin taxes‚ including alcohol‚ tobacco and sugar‚ as an option with the Treasury.
However‚ the Treasury has been hesitant to accept earmarking such funds‚ noting it introduces rigidities in the budgetary process and may limit the availability of funds for other and sometimes more urgent purposes, among other things.
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2020-09-22-sin-taxes-will-not-be-used-to-fund-health-care-says-minister/"]Full BusinessLIVE report[/link]