Question

Suppose that the U.S. government decides to charge wine consumers a tax. Before the tax, 30 billion bottles of wine were sold every year at a price of $6 per bottle. After the tax, 23 billion bottles of wine are sold every year; consumers pay $9 per bottle (including the tax), and producers receive $4 per bottle. The amount of the tax on a bottle of wine is $ per bottle. Of this amount, the burden that falls on consumers is $ per bottle, and the burden that falls on producers is $ per bottle. True or False: The effect of the tax on the quantity sold would have been larger if the tax had been levied on producers.

Answer 1

Answer:

The amount of the tax on a bottle of wine is $5 per bottle. Of this amount, the burden that falls on consumers is $3 per bottle, and the burden that falls on producers is $2 per bottle. True or False: The effect of the tax on the quantity sold would have been larger if the tax had been levied on producers.

Explanation:

The amount of the tax on a bottle of wine is $5 ($3 + $2).

The burden on consumers is $3 ($9 - $6), which is the difference between the after-tax purchase price and the before-tax purchase price for consumers.  This implies that the burden passed to consumers is $3 out of the total tax burden of $5.

The burden on producers is $2 ($6 - $4) which represents the difference between before-tax selling price and the after-tax selling price for the producers.  This means that the burden passed to producers is $2 out of the total tax burden of $5.

If the tax burden were passed to the producers alone, the selling price would have been more than $11 ($6 + 5).  This would have reduced demand for wine as consumers would have been forced to bear the total burden.  This would have made the tax unequitable.  This would have been the case unless demand is inelastic.  That means that the total demanded is not sensitive to price increases.