Pardon me, Mr. Erpenbach, Sir? I hate to tell you this, but there's no better way to quickly deploy angry kids to your house with stolen guns that suggesting that videogames get their own tax on top of normal taxes. The logic just doesn't compute here: Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach wants to have a special one-percent sales tax for video games and consoles. The surcharge would be in addition to Wisconsin’s current five-percent sales tax.
Somehow, this whole thing is tied to Erpenbach's desire to make sure that juveniles are treated as such by the courts when they commit non-violent crimes, and he has suggested a rehabilition program for them instead. The connection is that the program would be funded by this additional tax on games and consoles, as reported by the Wisconsin Radio Network.
Not shockingly, the proposal is already drawing criticism. Steve Nass, a state representative, has questioned the connection between video games and juvenile crime and why a tax increase would be necessary. Thanks there Steve, you saved us the trouble, but not the indignation over the concept. Erpenback says he is open to other funding options, so this is likely to get shot down regardless.
[Via GamePolitics - Thanks Justin]
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Contest:
12:51 PM on 12.21.2007
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These arrgogant bastards need moar money?
Fuck him. Games are already expensive as it is.
It's bullshit.
How the heck do you draw such a correlation? It would be just as appropriate to tax certain foods, drinks, and toys in general with that sort of concept.
Hey, why not tax/fine the parents of those juveniles instead when they're shown not to have any psychological issues? Why does it have to be everyone's problem that some people can't actually raise their children?
They goverment wants to put a tax on soda too...
They're railing against the common people. By taxing them to get them to shy away from purchasing the products. That they deem unsavory to them! It's a real pitty that our own officials forget freedom of speech!
I can see taxing cigarettes because they truly are distasteful & cause cancer. But I also think that USA is waking up to the fact. Of what China's doing to. Addiction says China to Video Games = Excuse to make a populous cable of enlisting, into their Army. By enlisting addicted people into boot camps!
While American Lawmakers forget... We need to stop spending money in IRAQ, and start spending @ home on uhhh, Police forces!
My later reaction: LOL KAY.
As far as a GW tax, no f'ing way. All a tax for that would be doing is funding the military some more rather than actually being used to force businesses to develop environmentally friendly solutions or to fun processes to curb pollution and other harmful environmental effects.
"You see taxes made smokers quit buying cigarettes therefore a video game tax will stop children from-"
I got nothin'