Can Taxes Shape an Industry? Evidence from the Implementation of the “Amazon Tax”
研究发现，要求亚马逊在结账时征收销售税后，受影响州的家庭购买量下降9.4%，大额购买下降29.1%，弹性分别为-1.2至-1.4和-3.9，部分消费者转向其他零售商。
ABSTRACT For years, online retailers have maintained a price advantage over brick‐and‐mortar retailers by not collecting sales tax at the time of sale. Recently, several states have required that online retailer Amazon collect sales tax during checkout. Using transaction‐level data, we document that households living in these states reduced their Amazon purchases by 9.4% following the implementation of the sales tax laws, implying elasticities of –1.2 to –1.4. The effect is stronger for large purchases, where purchases declined by 29.1%, corresponding to an elasticity of –3.9. Studying competitors in the electronics field, we find some evidence of substitution toward competing retailers.