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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach taxes and subsidies. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

Why Japan has millions of abandoned houses | Hustle (May 8, 2026)
Falling population, tax incentives for new builds, and a cultural preference for new builds explain Japan’s abandoned house problem.

The Tax Wall Locking Out America's Homes | Flock Homes (April 30, 2026)
Taxes on home sales may explain why older home owners are more likely to keep vacant homes than sell them. In LA, you could keep your home vacant for 18.7 years before carrying costs would exceed what it would cost you to sell your home!

'It's definitely backfiring': Seattle ordinance intended to help app delivery workers is 'hurting' them | King5 (Feb. 5, 2024)
Seattle’s new ordinance, intended to boost wages for gig workers, is the latest example of unintended consequences. The new $5 fee is discouraging orders, leaving less work for gig workers.

Could this obscure tax idea reshape American housing? | Vox (Jan. 5, 2024)
Detroit is considering a proposal to tax empty land more than occupied land to incentivize development and discourage vacant lots in the struggling city.

This Cream-Cheese Stuffed Bagel Is a Tax Loophole | Food and Wine (April 14, 2023)
Ordering your bagel sliced or toasted will cost you an additional 8.8745% in sales tax.

Germany sets windfall tax at 90% for clean power generators | Energy Connects (November 24, 2022)
A short article about the windfall tax on producers that the German government proposed. The tax will depend on the fuel businesses use. The government expects to collect a double-digit billion-euro revenue from the tax.

UK ‘considering scrapping soft drinks sugar tax’ | Just-Drinks.com (September 15, 2022)
The UK was planning to remove the sugar tax that had been introduced in 2018. The article provides the amount of the tax and the generated tax revenue. It is a good resource to discuss externalities, and the effect of taxes and their removal.

11 Strange State Tax Laws | Turbo Tax (August 22, 2022)
These are some unusual excise taxes. Challenge your students to graph each one or use them as class examples.

U.S. Congress moves toward $52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor firms | Voa News (July 21, 2022)
The CHIPS for America Act passed in 2022 provided subsidies to the producers of semiconductors, or chips, an input in the production of computers, cars, and cell phones. What was the purpose of the Act? Resource: Worksheet

China will abolish decades-old fines for couples with more than one child as it looks to raise birth rate | Insider (July 21, 2021)
Can taxes and subsidies change birth rates? Resource: Open-ended questions

How taxes turned margarine pink, made ships sink, and more strange results | NY Post (April 3, 2021)
A write-up of Keen and Slemrod’s book on weird taxes through history. See if your students can guess some of the clever ways people dodged these taxes.

 Getting Graphic

Videos

A tax to curb meat’s problems | FT Food Revolution (Sept. 10, 2023)
Pigouvian taxes can seem appealing, but can be difficult to implement in practice. Invite a class discussion on the merits of a meat tax with this video. Did you know? Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times by registering here.

Patents, prizes and subsidies | Marginal Revolution University
This video has particular relevance today given that the Covid-19 vaccine had to be produced as quickly as possible. Should we use patents, prizes, or subsidies to spur innovation? Alex Tabarrok explores how subsidies can be used to encourage production of goods with positive spillovers, like basic science research. Resource: Discussion questions

How Big government helps big dairy sell milk | Vox (May 2, 2016)
Maybe your students missed the whole ‘got milk?’ campaign, but dairy subsidies are still living large today. And yes, that means we also still have a large cheese surplus. See here.

Podcasts

Technology, subsidies, and cotton | Planet Money (8:23) (October 15, 2019)
America is the #1 exporter of cotton and subsidies factor into this distinction. NOTE: This version is the teaching version and has been truncated so you can play it in the classroom. Includes discussion questions, graphic organizers, and supplemental reading materials so students can follow along. Resource: Included at the link above

Why do taxpayers subsidize farmers’ insurance? | Planet Money (4:52) (August 23, 2012)
Farm insurance costs taxpayers roughly $7B a year. Why do we subsidize farmers? For additional context, here’s a related Washington Post article.

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