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wraggster
April 29th, 2006, 10:24
While the rest of the government seems concerned with finding a way to censor videogames, The Brownsville Herald has picked up on Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of Texas District 20 announcing plans to propose a tax placed on videogame sales to the state's Senate Finance Committee this weekend.
The Democrat intends to use revenue generated from the tax towards building new schools and upgrading poorer ones. "You have all these kids buying video games, and sometimes they are good, some are bad and that's not my call," he said to the paper. "But I think that we can generate [money] to put toward the schools they go to."

Hinojosa's proposal predicts the state would pick up about $65 million from the tax, but does little to explain what makes videogames so special. Music, movies and other forms of entertainment don't have a specific tax, but because videogames are in the legislative spotlight these days, it must be hip to propose something game-related.

via 1up (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3150017)

Kaiser
April 29th, 2006, 11:23
Wow, i don't even know what to say to this.

DCDayDreamer
April 29th, 2006, 12:03
It's all politics, they need to generate money so a tax is imposed, I'm just sick of them using children as an excuse all the time!. Every time someone proposes a tax like that, the general public should take out a lawsuit against them for exploitation!.

shadowprophet
April 29th, 2006, 12:30
I would have some smart assed comment about this. And then come back with a rather lingthly follow up about how messed up that is.

But no.

Now im getting the feeling these guys pass these ignorant bills, just to witness shadowprophet in full rage :(



What:confused:



I do not have a God complex:rolleyes:!! Now Bow before me mortals!!:D




Seriously tho. taxing videogames?!
I mean arnt they already taxed when you buy them :confused:


Damn,
Hey I got an idea. Why dont we start taxing politicians;)

I mean its the least they could do, is pay us to have to put up with there stupid bullshit.

dragaron
April 29th, 2006, 13:45
Seriously tho. taxing videogames?!
I mean arnt they already taxed when you buy them :confused:

True, that's what I don't get. Will this be a second tax or what?

Vegetable
April 29th, 2006, 13:59
Hey dumbasses, did you ever think that this tax might be a good thing? Little Johnny GTA's money won't just be going to violent video games anymore, it'll be going to good schools as well.

So quick to pass the Government as the bad guys.

Hungry Horace
April 29th, 2006, 14:55
sorry Vegetable.... but it *is* bulls*t.

as the post already well points out, how can you propse a tax on one entertainment media (games) and not on another (movies) - it's outright discrimination.

i'm glad i live in Europe, people would get up in arms about his one over here... straight to Brussels and the court of Human Rights.

No ones questioning that more money for schools shouldnt happen, of course thats a good thing... but its the means to the end. Its not as if customers arent already being shafted by games prices as it is, with manufacting and production cost being next to nothing, but retail price and in-store profit being very very high.

a tax on games and other media might work if the tax is imposed on on those people who are making the most money out of it. Tax the retailers who not only have massive mark-ups on prices but are also probably selling games to under-age patrons, just for a quick buck (it always surprises me how many youngsters play GTA) - or heaven forbid - tax some of the games company big-wigs sitting in their offices rolling in money made from the latest dungeon-crawler, GTA clone of OutRun spinoff.... the schools deserve the money, but at the expense of purely games-consumers? its no wonder capitalism f**ks me off at times.

rant over.

mog
April 29th, 2006, 15:04
Haha, and i thought most of britain's new laws from the EU were stupid... this is just a clever way to tax under 18's aswell as adults! Why not just raise tax for adult's instead? unless they are trying to make it look like tax isnt going up?

Also, why only video games? why not kids clothing, kids bikes, and everything else?
And it's not only kids that play video games. How about all the single people, with no kids that enjoy computer games?
Why are they paying more towards schools just because they like computer games?

Lol, this law is stupid! :p
For some reason, they must think the more video games that are sold, the more money schools are going to need... how does that make any sense?

John Vattic
April 29th, 2006, 16:11
Sounds descriminatory. Why not tax movies more. Some are good and others can suck. And every complacent cow in the herd in America ritualizes the consumption of movies.
Extortion of a single demographic is criminal and, well, as i said descriminatory.

dkjr83
April 29th, 2006, 17:45
Well, I live in Texas and just finished a graduate course on domestic public policy (a lot of it regarding school financing in Texas specifically), so I can tell you that Texas schools are in desperate need of a better financing system. They're looking at a lot of things; increasing cigarette taxes, changing business taxes (right now Texas is one of the best places to start a small business), and re-working property taxes.

Regardless of whether or not this happens, taxes are going to increase on the whole, and depending on where you fall on the political spectrum, this may or may not be a good thing. Pretty much everyone agrees that there are a few rich schools and a lot of poor ones, and the educational attainment level in general in suffering because of it. I have my own personal political philosophy about this, and this philosophy leads me to disagree with big government intervention.

Having said all that,
Taxing video games in just one state is probably a bad idea. If it were done on a national level it might drive base costs down. The market reacts to taxation just like any other stimuli, but when it happens in just one state (with something like video games; a worldwide industry), this isn't likely to happen. Most of the taxes of this type are referred to as "sin" taxes, and they're applied to alcohol, tobacco, etc. To include video games in that same category is both insulting and ignorant, and I know this particular politician is, for lack of a better term, an idiot.

Thank God my wife and I are moving out of this redneck state as soon as I graduate.

NeoXCS
April 29th, 2006, 17:58
Is'nt the biggest gaming crowd somewhere in their 30's? Why would it be logical for them to fund schools. ~shrugs~ I think it's crazy, games cost enough as it is. I dont think I'd want my state doing this. I mean yes it's good to fund school but it would be better to use other means then singling out the gamers. The people who get hit worst by this are the people who buy a lot of games, not the average school age person who plays a few games.

dkjr83
April 29th, 2006, 18:03
NeoXCS, I don't think anyone expects students themselves to be the funding source.

You're right about the gaming market being older though.

Another important thing to understand about the gaming market is that it's made up of primarily middle income persons. In my opinion, you shouldn't tax something that hard-working middle (or in a lot of cases low) income Americans buy for their entertainment. Tax the ridiculously rich who buy 30,000 dollar pieces of furniture and diamond jewelry, etc-- a "luxury" tax, basically.

idapimp
April 29th, 2006, 18:37
jesus christ i hate living in texas. every politician either here or from is is a damn retard

GagaMan
April 29th, 2006, 19:47
About time we got some games that were more challigi.....oh.

kayhanbakid
April 30th, 2006, 10:19
this is bullsh!t

i f\/cking cant believe it

Voltron
May 1st, 2006, 00:35
Hey dumbasses, did you ever think that this tax might be a good thing? Little Johnny GTA's money won't just be going to violent video games anymore, it'll be going to good schools as well.

That doesn't justify it in the least. Little Johnny should not be buying GTA in the first place. Or better yet, Little Johnny's mommy and/ or daddy should not let him buy that game if he is not mature enough to understand it is just a game for entertainment.

Taxing video games for that reason? Where will it stop? What will be next?

If any state needs to fund things such as schools then I really think that less money should be appropriated to government welfare programs that a lot of families & illegal immigrants abuse, defraud, and take advantage of.

Oh and Vegetable, who in here is a dumbass? Did you have any favorites or are we all dumb?

Basil Zero
May 1st, 2006, 02:39
Man, this absolutely pisses me off, why wont they waste their own money rather than our's or game company's money to give to schools, they might as well since they have been saying: "The economy is doing good".

Cap'n 1time
May 1st, 2006, 04:46
I have to agree that kids really shouldnt be playing violent video games. do you want your 11 year old going to see a rated R movie? So why should he play a violent video game in which he chooses who too kill, shoot, rape, etc. now a videogame tax is no way to prevent this though. I think thats the parents job, not some honky ass local governments.