Monday, January 7, 2008

VG Tax Proposed to Fund Wisconsin Juvenile Justice System

Jon Erpenbach, a Wisconsin state senator, has proposed a new bill that would raise the legal age of adults from 17 to 18. This change would result in an increased financial burden on the state's juvenile justice system. To alleviate that burden, he also proposed a one percent sales tax on all video games. Apparently, gamers "made aware" of the bill are outraged by the implied link between video games and violent youth. Lucky for us, Erpenbach has considered other sources of funding if the tax does "not find traction."

Sure...Tax the Gamer

I wonder if video games were targeted because they are hot-sellers or because of their affiliation with the youth, or a little of both. It seems like a lucrative avenue of approach for the state, but at the same time, it has yet to be proven that there is any real link between violent behavior and video games.

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