State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D) of Wisconsin has proposed an extra 1% tax on video games on top of the regular 5% sales tax. This increase in tax is set up to fund juvenile criminal rehabilitation. I'm not going to say that the cause is a problem, but this is really unfair to tag it on to video games, as if they were the problem. If you get the gamepolitics.com newsletter, they should be telling you about this, but you probably don't, so that's why I'm telling you about this.
This really can't be allowed to happen, if it's even constitutional, because it just confirms that politicians can't understand that video games are the least offensive of mass media products. You can't allow them to make a law on video games as if they were responsible for putting the 17-year-olds in prison in the first place. Just a quick rant, I'll leave it at that. Look here if you need more info.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Politics: Wisconsin Video Game Tax?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That's absurd. First of all, it's a slap in the face to personal responsibility. Parents should respect the rating system on games to keep excessive violence out of the hands of impressionable minds.
If you're kid is likely to become violent, take extra care. If your kid is intelligent enough to distinguish between reality and gameplay, then allow more. But don't blame the industry (or innocent consumers) for the actions of a few people.
Secondly, you can't put this in place without also taxing most films, novels and comic books as well as some music and art.
I can forgive it a little bit if it's going to fund a good cause. It's no secret that these programs need funds -- but it shouldn't really be forced upon people who aren't part of the problem.
Post a Comment