Wisconsin politician proposes 1% tax on video games
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jan 7th 2008 at 4:15PM }
The Entertainment Software Association obviously went straight to the battle chest with an eye-roll and a sigh. Joystiq received comment from ESA prez. Mike Gallagher (full statement after the break) where he says, "[The bill] unfairly burdens all Wisconsin consumers by imposing a double tax on video games and game consoles ... there is no public policy support for the bill: The fact is that national juvenile crime has decreased as video games have soared in popularity." If the Wisconsin legislators don't shoot this bill down, the judges will probably do it for them later -- Wisconsin taxpayers should prepare to foot the legal bills soon after.
[Thanks, Ed]
ESA full statement:
"This bill will stunt an industry that is growing in Wisconsin at over 11% per year and contributes more than $23 million to the state economy. It negatively impacts the hundreds of Wisconsin citizens whose jobs and families depend on the computer and video game industry. And, it unfairly burdens all Wisconsin consumers by imposing a double tax on video games and game consoles. Not only is it unconstitutional to discriminatorily target video games with a punitive tax, there is no public policy support for the bill: The fact is that national juvenile crime has decreased as video games have soared in popularity."
-- Michael D. Gallagher, president of the entertainment software association.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
spenc3r @ Jan 7th 2008 4:18PM
bad wisconsin! bad!
Jerk Face @ Jan 7th 2008 4:33PM
LOL (+)
Jerk Face @ Jan 7th 2008 4:33PM
LOL (+)
jsn @ Jan 7th 2008 4:45PM
shocker, a democrat looking for something else to tax. That's so original!
kojo87 @ Jan 7th 2008 7:16PM
i would like to apologize on behalf of Wisconsin gamers. this is bullshit and i sure as hell am voting against it. its not the money but the idea that they are equating video games with smoking and such. why dont they just jack up the porn tax or something?
i guess this is one of the best ways to get the 18-30 yr old voters to the polls. just put it on the same ballot as the presidential election! while you're there you might as well pick the leader of your nation while you're at it eh?
ballistic3188 @ Jan 7th 2008 4:22PM
no taxation without representation!
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2008 4:32PM
They are being represented, that is what those clowns with the (R) and (D) after their name are.
ComicShaman @ Jan 7th 2008 4:34PM
Are you going to protest by throwing large quantities of cheese into the harbor?
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2008 4:36PM
Wouldn't that just give all the fish gas?
ComicShaman @ Jan 7th 2008 4:42PM
Yeah! That would be cool. You could get Lake Superior bubbling along like a club soda.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Jan 7th 2008 4:42PM
They'd have to throw large quantities of video games and video game consoles into the harbor, wouldn't they?
Chris @ Jan 7th 2008 4:23PM
Seriously what is wrong with these people? Are they so far removed from any social norm that they don't see the negative outcome of their ridiculous proposals?
ComicShaman @ Jan 7th 2008 4:39PM
It's hand-waving. It's very easy to propose something that you know will never really pass, and then say "Look what I tried to do!" Senator Whats-his-cheese is simply trying to inflate his credentials with a certain demographic, no doubt people who see themselves as "culture warriors." Happens all the time in politics, kind of like the perpetually proposed, never approved Flag-Burning Amendment.
Korova @ Jan 7th 2008 4:23PM
Wow, a sin tax! That new, and not refreshing.
Next up, tax on shoes with more than a 2 inch heel.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Jan 7th 2008 4:26PM
Deja vu?
Pharmacy @ Jan 7th 2008 4:27PM
"The fact is that national juvenile crime has decreased as video games have soared in popularity"
This is a post hoc right? Just because the consumption of ice cream increases during the summer and the number of rapes increases during the summer doesn't mean ice cream = rape.
I'm not in favor of the bill, but that's just a poor argument.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Jan 7th 2008 4:28PM
But, you see, no one has every accused ice cream to cause rape.
Jerk Face @ Jan 7th 2008 4:35PM
Ice Cream raped my dog. It was Moose Tracks, specifically.
Pharmacy @ Jan 7th 2008 4:39PM
It's an (obvious) analogy.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Jan 7th 2008 4:44PM
Yeah, but you see, it's a shitty analogy, simply put.
bender @ Jan 7th 2008 4:58PM
Does it matter if it is shitty? You get the picture whether it was or wasn't.
Pharmacy @ Jan 7th 2008 6:34PM
I don't see why it's a shitty analogy. It shows exactly what a post hoc is and how the reasoning is fallacious. Care to explain yourself?
Secre @ Jan 7th 2008 7:48PM
The point of the statement is to counteract the "Video games cause crimes" statements, basically telling people that violence and video games DON'T have as much of a link as is thought.
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2008 4:34PM
It could be unrelated, but, doesn't that just prove a point? That they're unrelated? Which means the tax is stupid?
Pharmacy @ Jan 7th 2008 4:44PM
I'm just saying that he's using a terrible argument to prove his point. Either he didn't put much thought into his response or he needs a class on debate.
But regardless, the tax is dumb. I have no idea how the state government can realistically show that video games deserve a tax more than all the other products out there.
Dragod @ Jan 7th 2008 4:41PM
Screw that. I live in Wisconsin. I play Video games, but I'm never in trouble. Never been in a fight, never been arrested, or even in any sort of trouble with the police. This bill unfairly charges every person who plays video games in Wisconsin who doesn't get in trouble. Chances are, those who are in trouble with the cops are probably the ones stealing their games from others.
Gah. I've only been in this damn state for 7 months, and I begin to hate it more and more every week.
Dopple Boppler @ Jan 7th 2008 4:51PM
I'll trade places with you; see how you like northwestern Ohio instead.
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2008 4:55PM
Split the difference and come to Indiana. It doesn't suck much here.
NATO_Duke @ Jan 7th 2008 5:17PM
Yeah, but you've only been in the state for 7 months. Another year and the games will make you steal cars and run over old ladies...unless they tax you into submission.
Airhab @ Jan 7th 2008 7:15PM
Yeah i'm Wisconsin too.
WiNG @ Jan 7th 2008 4:45PM
I don't see what the big deal is. Guess what everyone, the government has to pay for all those services it renders! And that money comes from *gasp* taxes.
You are effectively whining over a 50-60 CENT tax on a $50-60 product. Don't worry, you don't need things like schools, roads, judges, etc. Games will take care of you.
Riplikash @ Jan 7th 2008 4:58PM
Don't be a twit. This is one of those cases where the term "slippery slope" is very applicable. It is not about the money at all, no one is whining over 50-60c. It is about your rights as a consumer and a citizen. Do you really think the government should be able to penalize you or reward you based on your purchasing habits? To try and control your interests, and penalize those who don't fit their view of what you should be?
It is one of the few cases where saying "its the principle of the thing" is still a powerful argument for action.
Zootittles @ Jan 7th 2008 4:59PM
Well, that's on top of the 5% Winsconsin sales tax (or 5.5% if you live in a place that adds county tax).
That said, I don't think people are taking issue to the amount of the tax, but rather the singling out of video games & consoles to tax.
Besides, there's so much gray area to the concept. Do Plug & Play games of the joystick variety count too? How about DVD versions of video games (like they did with DDR!) or board games utilizing DVDs (like Scene It!, because it is a "video" game when you think of it).
Bad idea, bad tax.
Robobagins @ Jan 7th 2008 5:46PM
I read you, but when the purpose of the taxation is to fund something so frivolous, charging 17yo as adults, not to mention the item being taxed, it's a waste of every fractional penny.
Zootittles @ Jan 7th 2008 4:49PM
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! -snort-
GYA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
WhatIsThatThing @ Jan 7th 2008 5:26PM
Do computer games fall under the category of video games? The computer is definitely a "video game console" if that is the case. They're not honestly preparing to put a tax on computers, are they? The backlash to that would be even greater than the current one!
Thursdae @ Jan 7th 2008 5:43PM
Great, I'm from Wisconsin. Why tax games? Why not art's and crafts! They make equal money right? ;)
Erwos @ Jan 7th 2008 6:09PM
This is illegal how? It seems like the article poster is somehow confusing "taxation" and "censorship". What grounds could you challenge a video game tax on?
hvnlysoldr @ Jan 8th 2008 1:58AM
"Not only is it unconstitutional to discriminatorily target video games with a punitive tax"
BananaBoat @ Jan 8th 2008 12:14AM
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Benjamin Heckendorn @ Jan 8th 2008 12:53AM
Hopefully this bullocks gets shot down. It's called a slippery slope people, you give them an inch, 5 years from now they'll take a mile. Look how "sin" taxes on smokes increase every year.
But this isn't like a tax on smokes or booze, which are in fact bad for you and do create actual burdens on society to some extent. This is just plain bullocks, where yet again clueless old lawmakers gang up on an "evil degenerate" industry.
I know from my single-handed controller requests that loads of people are severely injured by motorcycles. Think Wisconsin will pass a law to punish Harley Davidson? Fat chance. But piss off Human Head, Raven? Why not?
-Benheck, Wisconsinite
t_m @ Jan 8th 2008 9:15AM
Its worth point out, if you read the article, that the senator in question says HE DOESNT BELIEVE VIDEO GAMES CAUSE CRIME. He just wanted something to tax to generate revenue, and as vieo games are selling like hotcakes they seemed a good idea.
Personally I'd support the idea of raising the age people are tried as adults (assuming that 18 is the standard age of adulthood for everything else too.. drink, tax, sex, etc..) and if they want to tax videogames, or cars, or guns, or icecream to pay for it then I don't really care which.
Though taxing icecream would have the added benefit of reducing rapes.
The Fuzz 53 @ Jan 8th 2008 9:26AM
Let's hope no New Jersey state legislators didn't read this article. Those worthless sacks of shit have never met a tax they didn't like.
The Fuzz 53 @ Jan 8th 2008 9:32AM
Fuck you. That's what everybody says when a tax begins. Oh, it's only a few pennies, then it becomes a few dollars, and so on and so on.
Lord HowitHurtz @ Jan 8th 2008 11:17AM
F them!!
Why should certain groups pay more tax than others?
Extra tax on cigarettes/cigars.
Extra tax on booze.
Now extra tax on videogames?!?!!?
F-U!!
There should be a tax on something that everyone uses....like toilet paper, everyone uses toilet paper, everyone wipes their ass. So tax something that EVERYONE uses.