title: Explanation of Interaction between Iranian Physicians and Government in the Field of Tax: A Qualitative Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the main tools for fair redistribution of income in the society is taxes, and, in developing countries, the public sector is financed through taxes. Identifying physicians' income to determine their income tax is associated with many problems. This study was conducted to identify the factors that affect the interaction between Iranian physicians and the government regarding taxes to cover gaps in the tax system and resolve the problems associated with the interactions between physicians and the government relative to taxes.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a qualitative content analysis conducted in 2015. Two groups of participants were involved in this qualitative study. The first group was 11 experts and scholars from organizations related to taxes, and the second group was 10 general practitioners and specialists selected through purposive sampling until data saturation was achieved. MAXQDA 10 software was used for assigning interviews, mining codes, and categorizing the codes. In addition, qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data analysis resulted in emergence of three categories, i.e., "Tax Affairs Organization and government," "physicians," and "Medical Council." There were 12 subcategories for these three categories. The results of this study showed that the Tax Affairs Organization does not have access to the income information of physicians required to determine their taxes. The government should create motivation for accurate and proper tax payments by physicians by providing them with various amenities. It should be clear and tangible where the government spends the taxes received from physicians, and an appropriate tax culture should be created by using the mass media.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Tax Affairs Organization should identify the physicians who do not pay taxes through interaction and cooperation of the Medical Council as a trade organization, and it should compile their tax records. The Medical Council should acquire information from the Tax Affairs Organization when issuing and renewing medical licenses in order to reduce tax evasion by physicians. Their income rates should be considered carefully with regard to the increases in their incomes to create justice among the different specialties of physicians.
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Student of Health Economics, Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pakdaman
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolghasem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pourreza
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara Emamgholipour
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sefiddashti
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas Rahimi
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Foroushani
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ghahreman
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abdoli
keywords: income tax; physicians; tax agreement; tax culture; tax declaration; tax justice; tax officers