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Sales Taxes and Internet Commerce

Author

Listed:
  • Liran Einav
  • Dan Knoepfle
  • Jonathan Levin
  • Neel Sundaresan

Abstract

We estimate the sensitivity of Internet retail purchasing to sales taxes using eBay data. Our first approach exploits the fact that a seller's location?and therefore the applicable tax rate?is revealed only after a buyer has expressed interest in an item. We document how adverse tax "surprises" reduce the likelihood of purchase and shift subsequent purchases toward out-of-state sellers. We then use more aggregated data to estimate that every one percentage point increase in a state's sales tax increases online purchases by state residents by almost 2 percent, while decreasing their online purchases from state retailers by 3?4 percent.

Suggested Citation

  • Liran Einav & Dan Knoepfle & Jonathan Levin & Neel Sundaresan, 2014. "Sales Taxes and Internet Commerce," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:1:p:1-26
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.1.1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Austan Goolsbee & Michael F. Lovenheim & Joel Slemrod, 2010. "Playing with Fire: Cigarettes, Taxes, and Competition from the Internet," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 131-154, February.
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    3. Michael D. Smith & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2001. "Consumer Decision-making at an Internet Shopbot: Brand Still Matters," NBER Chapters, in: E-commerce, pages 541-558, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    7. Ali Hortaçsu & F. Asís Martínez-Jerez & Jason Douglas, 2009. "The Geography of Trade in Online Transactions: Evidence from eBay and MercadoLibre," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 53-74, February.
    8. Raj Chetty & Adam Looney & Kory Kroft, 2009. "Salience and Taxation: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1145-1177, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cohen, Alex & Keiser, David A., 2017. "The effectiveness of incomplete and overlapping pollution regulation: Evidence from bans on phosphate in automatic dishwasher detergent," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 53-74.
    2. Steel, Will & Daglish, Toby & Marriott, Lisa & Gemmell, Norman & Howell, Bronwyn, 2013. "E-Commerce and its effect upon the Retail Industry and Government Revenue," Working Paper Series 4333, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    3. Ishuan Li & Robert Simonson & Guncha Babajanova & Matthew Tuomala, 2016. "Smartphone Diffusion and Consumer Price Comparison Shopping Behavior: Implications for the Marketplace Fairness Act," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 36(3), pages 1337-1353.
    4. Jean-François Houde & Peter Newberry & Katja Seim, 2017. "Economies of Density in E-Commerce: A Study of Amazon’s Fulfillment Center Network," NBER Working Papers 23361, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Marion, Justin & Muehlegger, Erich, 2018. "Tax compliance and fiscal externalities: Evidence from U.S. diesel taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 1-13.
    6. Casey B. Mulligan, 2019. "The Employer Penalty, Voluntary Compliance, and the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from a Survey of Small Businesses," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 34, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Andrew J. Bibler & Keith F. Teltser & Mark J. Tremblay, 2018. "Inferring Tax Compliance from Pass-through: Evidence from Airbnb Tax Enforcement Agreements," Department of Economics Working Papers 2018-06, McMaster University.
    8. Agrawal, David R., 2014. "LOST in America: Evidence on local sales taxes from national panel data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 147-163.
    9. Sumit Agarwal & Leslie McGranahan, 2012. "Spending responses to state sales tax holidays," Working Paper Series WP-2012-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    10. Resce, Giuliano & Maynard, Diana, 2018. "What matters most to people around the world? Retrieving Better Life Index priorities on Twitter," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 61-75.
    11. Birg, Laura, 2018. "Cross-border or Online - Tax Competition with Mobile Consumers under Destination and Origin Principle," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181645, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    12. Bastian Stockinger, 2019. "Broadband internet availability and establishments’ employment growth in Germany: evidence from instrumental variables estimations," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 53(1), pages 1-23, December.
    13. Agrawal, David R. & Mardan, Mohammed, 2019. "Will destination-based taxes be fully exploited when available? An application to the U.S. commodity tax system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 128-143.
    14. Anil Arya & Brian Mittendorf, 2018. "Bricks-and-Mortar Entry by Online Retailers in the Presence of Consumer Sales Taxes," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5220-5233, November.
    15. David R. Agrawal & William F. Fox, 2017. "Taxes in an e-commerce generation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(5), pages 903-926, September.
    16. Houde, Sebastien & Aldy, Joseph E., 2017. "The Efficiency Consequences of Heterogeneous Behavioral Responses to Energy Fiscal Policies," Working Paper Series rwp17-047, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    17. Wen-Chung Guo & Fu-Chuan Lai, 2017. "Prices, Locations and Welfare When an Online Retailer Competes with Heterogeneous Brick-and-Mortar Retailers," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 439-468, June.
    18. Fox, William F. & Luna, LeAnn & Schaur, Georg, 2014. "Destination taxation and evasion: Evidence from U.S. inter-state commodity flows," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 43-57.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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