Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | Germany Debates Tax Cuts Amid Rapid Rise in Revenue
While most governments across Europe are looking for ways to cut their budget deficits, Germany faces a different dilemma: mounting tax revenue and what to do about it.
Mercatus | Capital Punishment: Why a Global Tax on Wealth Won't End Inequality
Every now and then, the field of economics produces an important book; this is one of them. Thomas Piketty’s tome will put capitalist wealth back at the center of public debate, resurrect interest in the subject of wealth distribution, and revolutionize how people view the history of income inequality. On top of that, although the book’s prose (translated from the original French) might not qualify as scintillating, any educated person will be able to understand it -- which sets the book apart from the vast majority of works by high-level economic theorists.
NBER | The “Amazon Tax”: Empirical Evidence from Amazon and Main Street Retailers
Several states have recently implemented laws requiring the collection of sales tax on online purchases. In practice, however, only Amazon.com has been affected. We find that households living in these states reduce Amazon expenditures by 9.5%, implying an elasticity of –1.3.
