Rich and well educated: are these requirements necessary to claim healthcare tax credits in Italy?

Background: The paper investigates the use of Healthcare Tax Credits (HTCs) in Italy through the analysis of a panel data which provides information on individual income tax from 2008 to 2014. Disparities emerging in the use of HTCs between Northern and Southern regions require to be analyzed. Objective: The aim of the paper consists in investigating the socioeconomic determinants in the use of Healthcare Tax Credits in Italy. Methods: A fixed effects Ordinary Least Square model is run to examine the impact of selected socioeconomic variables on regional per capita HTCs, with a particular focus on the role of education. Results: Findings corroborate the regressive traits of HTCs supported by literature and provide highlights on the role of education in explaining HTCs’ distribution among Italian regions. Conclusion: Public money is reimbursed to regions where people are on average richer and better educated. More equitable objectives could be reached by allocating the same resources in the provision of services covered by the NHS.