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Lesson· Taxes and Subsidies· 3 of 10

Who Pays the Tax?

Tyler Cowen
Tyler CowenGeorge Mason University

Who bears the burden of a tax? Buyers or sellers? Why is it that the more elastic side of the market will pay a smaller share of a tax. Again, we’ll apply what we know to the example of Social Security taxes and also look at the health insurance mandate as a part of the Affordable Care Act. Who pays for the mandate? The employers or the workers? We’ll also look at supply and demand of labor. Is the demand for labor more elastic than the supply?

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