3 . Relationship between tax revenues, deadweight loss, and demandelasticity
The government is considering levying a tax of $60 per unit on suppliers of either concert tickets or bus passes. The supply curve for each of these two goods is identical, as you can see on each of the following graphs. The demand for concert tickets is shown by DC (on the first graph), and the demand for bus passes is shown by DB (on the second graph).
Suppose the government taxes concert tickets. The following graph shows the annual supply and demand for this good. It also shows the supply curve ( S+Tax ) shifted up by the amount of the proposed tax ($60 per ticket).
On the following graph, use the green rectangle (triangle symbols) to shade the area that represents tax revenue for concert tickets. Then use the black triangle (plus symbols) to shade the area that represents the deadweight loss associated with the tax.
