Table 4. Illustrations of feasibility considerations on revenue-raising mechanisms in Benin, Mali and Togo .
| Criterion | Increased tax on (imported) alcoholic drinks | Newa or increasedb tax on airplane tickets | New tax on telephone communications | New tax on remittances in financial transactions | New tax on the extractive industriesc | New tax on national lottery ticketsd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political feasibility | Resistance from the population would be expected, especially for a tax on beer (–) |
Unitaid airline tax was previously rejected by parliament in Togo but is already in force in Mali. Tax for the purpose of UHC may gain more acceptance (+ –) |
Competing interests of ministries (–) |
Resistance from the population would be expected (–) |
Competing interests of ministries. Unclear political situation (– –) |
Popularity of gambling may be an advantage to advocate for UHC. Tax on national lottery tickets already exists to fund social, cultural and sport events (+) |
| Sustainability | No high consumption rates so far, but increase would be expected (+) |
Growing industry (+ +) |
Growing industry (+ +) |
Growing amount of remittance from migrants (+) |
Growing industry (+) |
Revenues may be unreliable due to irregular consumers (–) |
| Stability | Stable market (+) |
Stable market (+) |
Stable market (+) |
Stable market (+) |
Revenues would fluctuate due to varying commodity prices (–) |
No stable market (–) |
| Progressivity | Taxes could be higher for wine and spirits which are consumed by more affluent population groups (compared with beer) to be more progressive (+ +) |
Affects more affluent population groups. Distinction between economic and business class passengers would enhance progressivity (+ +) |
A flat tax rate is more progressive. The tax would be more progressive if differentiated in terms of volume and services (+ –) |
Potential negative impact for people who depend on remittances, as those who receive remittances spend the highest proportion of their income on consumption (– –) |
Not enough information to assess this | Potential negative impact for low-income groups (–) |
| Administrative efficiency | Mechanism to collect taxes already in place (+ +) |
Mechanism to collect taxes already in place (+ +) |
Mechanism to collect taxes already in place (+ +) |
No information available | No effective collection mechanism in place. Lack of data on how much is collected (Togo) (– –) |
Mechanism to collect taxes already in place (++) |
| Other possible effects and trade-offs | Has the potential to reduce alcoholic drinks consumption, which increases health status of the population (+) |
Marginal risk that national airports would lose competitiveness (+ –) |
Investments may slow down, which would affect the rural poor who depend on telephone services (–) |
Informal transactions would benefit. (– –) |
Extractive industries already highly taxed (Mali). This emerging sector still needs to attract investors (– –) |
Current market is competitive, with diverse gambling options. Existing lottery already in place (–) |
UHC: universal health coverage.
a Only in Benin and Togo.
b Only in Mali.
c Only in Mali and Togo.
d Only in Benin.
Note: We graded the criteria from very weak to very strong based on the data from stakeholders’ discussions and interviews: (– –) = very weak; (–) = rather weak; (+–) = neutral; (+) = strong; (+ +) = very strong.