Question

Which of the following is not correct? Select one: a. Taxes levied on sellers and taxes levied on buyers are not equivalent. b. A tax places a wedge between the price that buyers pay and the price that sellers receive. c. The wedge between the buyers’ price and the sellers’ price is the same, regardless of whether the tax is levied on buyers or sellers. d. In the new after-tax equilibrium, buyers and sellers share the burden of the tax.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is option a.

Explanation:

Taxes levied on either buyers or sellers are equivalent. In both cases, the tax creates a wedge. This wedge is the difference between the price that the buyers have to pay and the price that the sellers receive.  

The price that the buyers have to pay increases while the price that the sellers receive decreases. But this tax wedge does not depend on whom the tax is levied, it depends on the elasticity of demand and supply. So whether the tax is levied on buyers or sellers, the tax wedge will remain the same.

The tax burden will be shared between both buyers and sellers. So it is incorrect to say that the taxes levied on sellers and taxes levied on buyers are not equivalent.