Consumer behavior in online shopping is affected by sales tax

Profits from the sales tax make up a large percentage of overall revenues in many states, making the estimated $10 billion lost each year to tax-free internet purchases particularly concerning. Liran Einav, Dan Knoepfle, Jonathan Levin, and Neel Sundaresan examine just how much the presence (or lack thereof) of a sales tax influences consumer behavior. He finds that online purchasing goes up by 1-2 percent for each percentage point increase in the state sales tax, and that an online sales tax does lead to a decline in purchases.