Raising the tax rate on essential goods—a traditional means of increasing government revenues—invariably turns low- and middle-income taxpayers against the government. Hence government officials have proposed adding a new tax on purchases of luxury items such as yachts, private planes, jewels, and furs. The officials claim that this tax will result in a substantial increase in government revenues while affecting only the wealthy individuals and corporations who can afford to purchase such items. The answer to which one of the following questions would be most relevant in evaluating the accuracy of the government officials’ prediction?
(A) Will luxury goods be taxed at a higher rate than that at which essential goods are currently taxed?
(B) Will the revenues generated by the proposed tax be comparable to those that are currently being generated by taxes on essential goods?
(C) Will sales of the luxury items subject to the proposed tax occur at current rates once the proposed tax on luxury items has been passed?
(D) Will the proposed tax on luxury items win support for the government in the eyes of low- and middle-income taxpayers?
(E) Will purchases of luxury items by corporations account for more of the revenue generated by the proposed tax than will purchases of luxury items by wealthy individuals?

Afirm's before-tax cost of debt, rd, is the interest rate that the firm must pay on debt. because interest is tax deductible, the relevant cost of debt used to calculate a firm's wacc is the cost of debt, rd (1 – t). the cost of debt is used in calculating the wacc because we are interested in maximizing the value of the firm's stock, and the stock price depends on cash flows. it is important to emphasize that the cost of debt is the interest rate on debt, not debt because our primary concern with the cost of capital is its use in capital budgeting decisions. the rate at which the firm has borrowed in the past is because we need to know the cost of capital. for these reasons, the on outstanding debt (which reflects current market conditions) is a better measure of the cost of debt than the . the on the company's -term debt is generally used to calculate the cost of debt because more often than not, the capital is being raised to fund -term projects. quantitative problem: 5 years ago, barton industries issued 25-year noncallable, semiannual bonds with a $1,600 face value and a 8% coupon, semiannual payment ($64 payment every 6 months). the bonds currently sell for $845.87. if the firm's marginal tax rate is 40%, what is the firm's after-tax cost of debt? round your answer to 2 decimal places. do not round intermediate calcu

Specialization—the division of labor—enhances productivity and efficiency by a) allowing workers to take advantage of existing differences in their abilities and skills. b) avoiding the time loss involved in shifting from one production task to another. c) allowing workers to develop skills by working on one, or a limited number, of tasks. d)all of the means identified in the other answers.

By 2020, automobile market analysts expect that the demand for electric autos will increase as buyers become more familiar with the technology. however, the costs of producing electric autos may increase because of higher costs for inputs (e.g., rare earth elements), or they may decrease as the manufacturers learn better assembly methods (i.e., learning by doing). what is the expected impact of these changes on the equilibrium price and quantity for electric autos?