Just the other day we were telling you about how Wisconsin wanted to add a tax on videogames. Now, thanks to GamePolitics, we're hearing that New Mexico wants to jump on this bandwagon. Videogames aren't the only target of this new tax though. TV sets will also be targeted in this 1% sales tax proposal:
"We believe it is such a nominal tax that consumers won't feel it too much, especially if they are educated about where that money goes," said Michael Casaus
So who's to blame for all of this? Hippies. Or rather, The Environmental Alliance of New Mexico and the Sierra Club. They believe that this would raise about $4 million a year and it would go to funding programs for school kids for outdoor education.
So let me get this straight, they want to tax videogames and TVs so they can get money to do what essentially is the parents job? Last time I checked, it's ultimately the parents responsibility to monitor what their kids are doing and delegate how much a child should spend his time doing various activities. What they're trying to do is tax the parents (who ultimately are the people who buy the products) so they can do the parents job for them.
I think Batmeng needs to step in and save the day. What do you all think?
[Thanks, Bleach! -- Everytime I think of New Mexico, I think of the shirt from BustedTees.]
Hamza Aziz, Destructoid's Community Director, has been here since day one. He was born when a tiger coughed up a hairball into a pool of ooze. He was one of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles before budget cuts. Hamza works as a previews editor and manages a team in San Francisco. To date he has given away tens of thousands of dollars in prizes to readers. What a dick. Actually, Hamza is as kind as he is hairy.
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Contest:
12:19 AM on 01.24.2008
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I can legally drink in Mexico.
But hey, gamers slurped up the $10 price hike current gen console games saw, and that just goes to build the cocaine pyramid on top of the hookers at EA. %1 of a $60 game is 60 cents, if my public school math education works that out right, and I think that if it goes to a worthwile public good, I can toss a couple of extra quarters in the coffer when I buy games.
It is my assumption here that outdoor education includes things like biology, environmental sciences, geology, the like. When learning about sciences, it is nice to be able to experience them with things like field trips and the like, rather than just looking at a picture in a textbook.
I'm not sure where we are going with the parents thing here, other than it seems to be a site rule lately that every third post has to contain something about parents raising their kids. Raising money for education doesn't seem to be something designed to circumvent the parental role, and if your supposition is true that its mostly parents who buy games, then this turns into a pretty fair use tax as the people who are most affected by the tax receive the greatest effect.
Tonights civics homework: browse your states tax codes and see where they go. You may be suprised how many programs are funded by taxes collected from unrelated matters. Check out sin taxes sometime too, those are always fun.
As I said in the comments on the story about the proposed video game tax in South Dakota, I live in New York, and I already pay sales tax on every PSN purchase I make — so I have no idea what you guys are talking about. A Rock Band song doesn’t cost $1.99; with New York City’s 8.375% sales tax, I paid $2.16 for “Roxanne” by The Police. And as Midknight said, if they want to charge tax, there’s really no way to stop them. What are you going to do, register your credit card with an address in a different county or state?
If you want to donate money to a good cause nobody's holding you back -- just don't force us all to give money to your good cause.
Nukes for the Mexicans.
If people spent more time monitoring their children instead of letting congressmen do it, this world would be better off.
I don't ask that people fund my personal causes with governmental money, although it would help turn some of my volunteer work into paid work which would be nice. I would like to think the value of education hasn't fallen so far in America that it isn't worth funding if it means taxes on luxury goods.
If issues like this are really upsetting to people, write your state representative. You can use the web to find out what district you live in and who represents you. It seems like most videogame legislation is happening on a state level, so it's probably the best place to let your opinions be known. Most representatives have an office of some sort where they can be contacted when the legislature isn't in session, and you'd be suprised how easy it is to get to meet them in person at various events. I do know that reccomending actual activism to videogamers is akin to talking to a wall but if you are unhappy with the way things are you either have to do something or accept the decisions others make for you.
Parents and general fun spoilers always go after the next evil in media. It just happens to be games this time round, hopefully some new form of entertainment will come along and take up the position of scapegoat for lazy ass parents.
Flat tax is the way to go if you're going to start raising sales taxes. Give me a straight 18% flat tax on all goods and services and not this stupid targeted tax concept. Where's all the increased taxes for adult magazines, sex toys, porn, and the such?