Asked by Derise Major on Jul 12, 2024

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John has been in the habit of mowing Willa's lawn each week for $20. John's opportunity cost is $15, and Willa would be willing to pay $25 to have her lawn mowed. What is the maximum tax the government can impose on lawn mowing without discouraging John and Willa from continuing their mutually beneficial arrangement?

Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost represents the value of the best alternative that must be forgone as a result of choosing another option.

Maximum Tax

An imposed upper limit on the amount of taxes that can be levied on an individual or entity by the government.

  • Investigate the influence of taxes on pricing dynamics for both purchasers and sellers.
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PH
Patrick HoyackJul 18, 2024
Final Answer :
If the tax is less than $10, there will exist a price at which both John and Willa will still benefit from the lawn-mowing arrangement. If the tax is $10, a price can be set which will leave John and Willa neither better off nor worse off from the lawn-mowing arrangement. If the tax is greater than $10, all possible prices will leave at least one of the parties worse off from the lawn-mowing arrangement.