M2016 Economics SL Mr. Friedman

On Friday, Korea will introduce a new book price control system in order to try to salvage its moribund publishing industry. The new scheme will lower the cap to 15 percent and cover all books ― regardless of their genres or how long they have been on the shelves. However, it is not sure wheter it will be sufficient to turn around Koreans decreasing interest in books.

IN Kuala Lumpur the price of RON95 petrol for the month of December is likely to be reduced by four sen, and for the same period, RON97 is expected to cost RM2.46 after the government agreed to lower its price by nine sen. On Nov 21, the government announced that fuel subsidies for RON95 and diesel would be removed from Dec 1. The decrease in the fuel price will benefit the people since, if fuel subsidies lead to an increase in prices, the price of express bus tickets should also be reduced when there is a drop in oil price. Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations vice-president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said money saved from the removal of subsidies could be used to upgrade the public transport system.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) plans to sell the newest iterations of iPhones at a discount, a pricing strategy that Apple (AAPL) has managed to squash for years. The cheaper iPhone 5c will be sold at the world's largest retailer for $79 along with a standard two-year service contract, 20 percent less than anywhere else in the U.S. This article is discussing how Walmart's IPhone discount defeat's apple's price controls. The IPhone 5c for example is being sold by a retailer for 79 USD with a two-year contract which is a breakthrough.

The following article discusses the price controls planed by the government in Venezuela. Due to the Christmas season arriving, the government has lowered prices of products to benefit employees and prevent surpluses of products.

I'm sure people don't normally comment on each other's bookmarks but I love this article. It's the good will of people who are willing to work in order to put in a maximum price and enforce it so that shoppers can buy their presents and keep the economy going.

The Help to Buy scheme helps people buy their first houses even if they are on low income but because the prices of houses keep increasing the government is being asked to intervene

This article is about the excise taxes on marijuana in Colorado. It is important to know that the tax revenue $2 million dolars in January 2013. As marijuana is legal in Colorado, the government gets the best benefit of it by imposing harsh tax on marijuana. Since marijuana is price inelastic because of its addictive nature, the government can impose as much as taxes as it can which can lead to more revenues.

This article demonstrates how profitable taxation can be for governments. The example here is that the state of Colorado earned over $2 million in taxes on the sale of marijuana, an addictive product.

This article is about the income of the government by the taxes on marijuana which is legal in Colorado

This article concerns the price ceiling set on milk products. The government did this because milk industries were raising the price of milk products for children under 6 years old. It is hoped that this will stabilise the prices of milk.

The government had imposed an excise tax to discourage teens from purchasing and consuming alcopops. However, since the demand of the alcopops was not detered as much was intended, it shows that the alcopops are relatively inelastic.

Argentina according to the article has suffered from a high annual fluctuation last year and the percentage will increase this year if the government do not take action. As predicted, the government did of-course see an inflation which is 18.2% which is lower than that of last. And this inflation occurred from January to August.

The sugar industry in Maharashtra, the biggest producer of the sweetener in the country, expects that the formation of the Sugarcane Price Control Board (SPCB) will lead to a permanent solution on the sugarcane price issue. They are going to implement a revenue sharing formula in order to fix this.

This article talks about excise tax on medical device manufacturers and the impact of the tax on the industry.

The California Medical Assn now want a $3 excise tax put on cigarettes because the extra cost would pay for the cost of treating diseases caused by smoking.

Very interesting article about putting a tax on sugar products, saying that it would benefit society. While this is true, how would it affect the economy? Quite alot I would say.

This article concerns the excise tax place on beverages containing sugar. Berkeley has done this to reduce the amount of consumption of the drink, which they hope will improve nutrition and health in the area. This shows that the beverage is elastic, and the government are controlling its demand.

This article discusses how the Tata Memorial Center in India wants these 12 cancer treating medicines to be put onto the essential medicines list so that the prices would be government controlled. This allows for the government to subsidize and adjust the prices of the medicines accordingly.

This article talks about how indirect tax has risen significantly over the last ten years. (Indirect Tax being one imposed on expenditure). The total amount of tax raised by HMRC has increased by 43% over the last ten years, from £344bn to £490bn. When imposing these taxes the government must also think about the effect this is having on individuals as well.

This article centers around how the Seattle City Council had voted on Friday to have the city's Law Department investigate the possibility of enacting "an excise tax on annual individual or household earnings in excess of $1 million." The article also depicts how the council had voted regarding minumum wages.

According to the federal government, weed is one of the most dangerous controlled substances on the market, especially after it was legalised in Colorado. Colorado's Proposition AA, passed two months before legalization, requires that recreational marijuana be subjected to a 15 percent excise tax, a levy imposed on goods such as gas, alcohol, and tobacco, in addition to a 10 percent state sales tax. During the first fiscal year the state pulled in just under $14 million in marijuana taxes, licenses, and fees according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The money is going to build schools, support drug prevention and intervention programs, fund the state's Marijuana Enforcement Division. On the other hand, medical marijuana patients only pay a 2.9 percent tax on weed.

This article is a study, which looks at increase of taxing companies per worker in order to cover the costs of providing health care for the workers. The study looks at how an increase in tax would affect companies and there attitudes towards this tax. Companies would take measures in order to pay as little tax as possible.

This article is about the excise taxes on medical devices and Obamacare. It is important that it is repealed immediately so that is can go tax free and people can pay less, but it can't get through the house to the president's desk so the issue persists.