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I'm afraid the publishers are simply responding to their desire (need) for profit, which they are in a better position to control in the present book market. I.E., they can essentially force booksellers to take the books they want to sell, limit the buyback as they see fit, and fairly accurately predict the amount of profit they'll make even in a bad market. They simply can't do that in the current e-book market, undeveloped and misunderstood as it is.
The other issue is their understanding of Human Nature, to wit: The cheaper, the better, and Free is best. E-books are still too easy to pirate... and they believe prospective customers still find it too easy to get a copy of a book from someone they know, or from a pirate site. They expect to lose their shirts on pirated e-books, so they see it as too much of a loss to even be worth using as a loss-leader.
Thing is, both of these issues can be addressed. Problem is, the big pubs just don't want to be bothered. They prefer to stay ignorant, deal with the production systems they already know, and avoid rocking the boat... bird in the hand, and all that.
So, regarding the e-book "tax": I'm sure they use the premium cost specifically to discourage the buying of e-books, in favor of the printed books that allow them to more accurately control distribution and predict profits.
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