Suppose a $1 tax is placed on the sellers of a good. The more elastic the supply of the good, the
Question
Suppose a $1 tax is placed on the sellers of a good. The more elastic the supply of the good, the
Solution
more the burden of the tax will fall on the buyers.
Here's why:
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Elasticity of supply measures how responsive suppliers are to price changes. A good with elastic supply means that suppliers are very responsive to price changes - they will significantly increase or decrease the quantity they supply in response to small changes in price.
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When a tax is placed on sellers, they have two options: they can absorb the cost of the tax themselves, or they can pass it on to buyers in the form of higher prices.
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If the supply of the good is elastic, suppliers are very responsive to price changes. This means that when the tax is imposed, they are likely to reduce the quantity they supply rather than absorb the cost of the tax. This reduction in supply will cause the price to rise.
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Therefore, the more elastic the supply of the good, the more the burden of the tax will fall on the buyers, because they will have to pay higher prices.
Similar Questions
If a tax is physically paid by sellers, then sellers will always bear the full burden of the tax
When the price elasticity of demand is relatively __________ elastic than the price elasticity of supply, the burden of an excise tax falls mainly on __________.1 pointas; buyers.less; sellers.more; buyers.more; sellers
When the price elasticity of supply is _____ relative to the price elasticity of demand, then sellers bear _____ of the economic burden of a tax.Question 3Answera.small; noneb.large; a smaller sharec.small; alld.large; a bigger share
Which statement is true?Group of answer choicesThe economic incidence of taxation falls more heavily on the more inelastic side of the market.In general the burden of the tax falls on the more elastic side of the marketIn general the burden of the tax falls on the side of the market who is legally responsible for paying the tax.The economic incidence of taxation falls fully on the sellers if supply is perfectly elastic and/or if demand is perfectly inelastic.None of the statements are true.
The tax burden is mainly borne by the producers if the supply is more elastic than the demand.
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