Abstract

The subject of the article is an analysis of the scope of the exemption from value added tax in relation to medical services, with particular attention to services which, although not pursuing a directly therapeutic purpose, remain essential from the perspective of patients’ health security. The point of departure for these considerations is the salutogenetic concept, which makes it possible to challenge the rigid division of medical services into those that are therapeutic and those that do not pursue such an aim. The study advocates a more flexible interpretative approach to the therapeutic purpose criterion, one that allows for the inclusion of evolving practice and is grounded in premises embedded in the prevailing legal culture.