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To be upfront, I don't quite get this 2% taxing for the new Marketplace.

I've read the economist run-around in the announcements and what-not, but none of it explains anything. Once I reached the end of the thread, I felt even less informed about the whole thing than when I clicked the link. Perhaps, instead of using redundant irrelevancy to "explain" what this tax will do, there should be a true explanation as to how the higher-ups think it will lower prices in the marketplace.

Prices are based on the supply/demand of the item, not the Gold, so sinking the Gold in the economy isn't going to change anything. If a rare item is being priced at X, it will still be priced at X. People are willing to pay for it because there isn't any other price being offered. Sellers wouldn't price significantly lower because the item is rare and they can get that higher price. The only drawback is that, with the 2% tax, the item will be priced at X+ to compensate and people will still be willing to shell out that extra Gold.

It seems as though it's being pushed that this tax will balance the marketplace simply because balance is what a lot of users want. A steady Gold sink won't help. To keep items from inflating, the supply needs to be increased. This tax seems overly thought out and too complicated of an issue to fix such a large-scale disruption. Older monthly collectibles could be reintroduced as purchasable items either via a set price (i.e. 150,000g for Kiki) or an additional donation dollar amount ($3-5). That would balance everything in one night.