THE ICMS ON HIGH COST MEDICINES: TRIKFTA EXEMPTION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF ABILITY TO PAY

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how the huge tax burden on high-cost medicines is a barrier to the realization of the right to health. Demonstrating that among all the taxes that fall on drugs in Brazil, the ICMS is one of those that has the greatest impact because it is present throughout the chain of production and distribution of medicines. In addition, the article demonstrates the implication generated by the remarkable number of judicialized cases in the field of health in the country, is the positive effects generated by the granting of a tax benefit, such as the exemption, as a way to ensure the reach of people who have the ability to contribute reduced to medicines for the treatment of diseases such as cystic fibrosis.