trivard676
A new piece of legislation has been proposed by an Oklahoma state representative that seeks to penalize gamers by putting an additional, specialized tax on most video games.
Democratic state representative Bill Fourkiller would see to it that an additional 1% tax be placed on all games rated T and up. His reasoning would be because they lead to childhood obesity and bullying. I don’t exactly have the time nor the desire to go into all the reasons why the justification for this bill is wrong. Had there been some actual statistics to show that T or M rated games lead to higher rates of obesity than any other rated game, or any other media for that matter, I might…no, I just can’t see it. See the header image if you want to know exactly how I feel about this.
It should be noted as well that I don’t live in the United States – I live in Canada. I can say without hesitation that there are worse countries to live in for tax purposes, but Canadians pay their fair share when it comes to taxes. That being said, if this kind of legislation were to pass in Oklahoma, it wouldn’t be long before other cash-strapped states (or even countries) were trying to get some extra revenue from the gaming industry. It seems like every governmental body seems to want to squeeze a little more out of the taxpayer and this, in theory seems like a great way of doing so. Especially considering that T and M rated games aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. As the industry matures, so does the content in our games. And quite frankly, I don’t want to see games taxed more than they are for this reason – or for any other reason for that matter.
Even at just 1%, the cost is too high. For one, it unjustly penalizes people who have done nothing wrong. We all play M-rated games, but I could probably vouch that 98% of us have never bullied someone as a result of what we saw in a video game, as the legislation so claims. Additionally, it labels obesity – a nation-wide epidemic as being an issue that can be pinned squarely on video games.
Why not add an extra tax to fast-food? Or junk food? Why openly discriminate against gamers? Fourkiller insists that he’s not discriminating against the gaming industry, but his proposed bill states differently. The bill doesn’t impose the same tax on other types of media that could be considered violent or are subject to ratings.
It’s important to note that this bill hasn’t been passed yet and the liklihood of it actually passing into law is slim. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the gaming industry could not be singled out at the federal level, so that ruling could also apply to being singled out at the state level as well. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t try.
The idea that someone with the power to influence a wealthy amount of people wants to add an extra tax onto our favourite media for no justifiable reason just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
How about yours?
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