You are a USDA economist, and the Senate Finance Committee has come to you for advice. The government is considering bolstering its finances by imposing a tax on either salt or blue cheese. You know that the markets for salt and blue cheese are roughly the same size, though the demand for salt is highly inelastic, while the demand for blue cheese is highly elastic. Which option do you recommend as the least costly choice? A tax on would be less costly, because the deadweight loss that occurs would be smaller due to the demand being relatively in this market.

Lo.2, 3, 9 lori, who is single, purchased 5-years class property for $200,00 and 7-years class property for $420,000 on may 20, 2018. lori experts the taxable income derived form the business (without regard to the amount expensed under ⧠179) to be about $550,000. lori has determined that she should elect immediate ⧠179 expensing in the amount of $520,000, but she doesn’t know which asset she should completely expense under ⧠179. she does not claim any available additional first-year depreciation. a. determine lori’s total cost recovery deduction if the ⧠179 expense is first taken with respect to the 5-year class asset. b. determine lori’s total cost recovery deduction if the ⧠179 expense is first taken with respect to the 7-year class asset. c. what is your advice for lori? d. assume that lori is in the 24% marginal tax bracket and that she uses ⧠179 on the 7-year asset. determine the present value of the tax savings from the depreciation deductions for both assets. see appendix g for present value factors, and assume a 6% discount rate. e. assume the same facts as in part (d), except that lori decides not to use ⧠179 on either asset. determine the present value of the tax savings under this choice. in addition, determine which option lori should choose. f. present your solution to parts (d) and (e) of the problem in a spreadsheet using appropriate microsoft excel formulas. e-mail your spreadsheet to your instructor with a two-paragraph summary of your findings.