Taxes on medicines are still a problem …

by Tim Wilson, January 27, 2010

Anyone following the long-running debate about access to medicines in the developing world will know that intellectual property is regularly sharply criticised as the culprit. It is a highly disputed claim. And even then, we know IP is necessary to help promote medicine innovation which is vital to ensure there are medicines to distribute.

But there are dead weight losses on the sale of medicines that only add to the final cost, without benefit, and particularly tariffs. A new report from the International Policy Network makes this point that highlights the current trend in medicine tariffs in the developing world.  The report finds that generally the tariff levels are going down, but still remain prohibitively high in the least developed countries of the world. Tariffs are also more widespread on antibiotics in places like Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ensuring universal access to medicines is one of the greatest challenges humanity faces. But first, and foremost, governments shouldn’t be shifting the blame when they’re still clearly responsible for high prices themselves.

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