Wisconsin placing 5% tax on downloaded games, items

Wisconsin will implement a 5 percent sales tax on "digital goods" starting October 1, reports The Spectator. The tax is expected to raise $10.9 million over the next two years; meanwhile, the state currently has a $6 billion budget deficit. That's like trying to melt an iceberg by licking it.

The tax will affect music, movies, digital books, ringtones, games and DLC -- no mention of porn (but that's streamed now anyway, not really "downloaded"). Wisconsin isn't pure evil, though, it did begin offering a 25 percent tax break to game developers last year. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have: the facts of life.