Exploring Tax Policy to Advance Population Health, Health Equity, and Economic Prosperity: Proceedings of a Workshop (2019)
Chapter: Appendix C: Small Group Exercise Materials
Appendix C
Small Group Exercise Materials
During the second half of the workshop, participants used what they had learned to partner with their tablemates to construct their own tax policy for the fictional city of Ourlandia.
Small Group Exercise Worksheet (40 min)
Goal: To engage participants in the design of a hypothetical tax policy to support a state-wide wellness fund or other broad-based funding approach to improve population health.
| Design Question | Fill in Your Answer(s) | |
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1. What is your desired outcome of this policy? |
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2. Looking at our tax policy typology, what alternative would be most attractive for your purpose? Why? (Choose one track) |
Tax Expenditure/credit_______________ Type________________________________ Tax_________________________________ Type________________________________ |
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3. Is this policy aimed at corporate entities? Specific industries? Individuals? Both? How does the structure differ if aimed toward both the corporate and individual? |
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| Design Question | Fill in Your Answer(s) | |
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4. Who bears the cost of this policy choice? |
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5. Who stands to benefit from this policy, both directly and indirectly? |
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6. What specific elements should you incorporate into your design? Consider frequency, expiration dates, eligibility/exclusions, accountability mechanisms and/or caps. |
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7. Among the following design principles, which ones are most important to you? Rank order these design features. Does your design actually reflect these preferences? Should it be amended? |
Is the tax or tax-expenditure: | Rank |
| Simple to administer (or does it require a lot of “middlemen”)? | —— | |
| Plain, clear, and predictable to the taxed entity? | —— | |
| Effective toward achieving its goal? | —— | |
| Fair or does it place an unfair burden on any particular stakeholder group? | —— | |
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8. Now that you have selected an option and considered specific design elements, reflect on the possibility of unintended impact. How would that alter your design? |
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SOURCE: Martinez presentation, December 7, 2017.
SOURCE: Martinez presentation, December 7, 2017.
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