http://www.gamespot.com/news/6143114.html Texas politician proposes 100 percent game tax Though incumbent Governor Rick Perry is almost assured to win the Republican nomination for this year's gubernatorial election in Texas, he does face three long-shot challengers. One of them, Corpus Christi rancher Star Locke, has proposed eliminating property taxes in the Lone Star State with revenue from taxing three things he finds undesirable.... [UPDATE] However, gamers will be especially alarmed by the third part of Locke's property-tax-relief proposal--a 100 percent tax on "violent video games." According to the candidate's official Web site, the candidate would impose "The Family Security & Protection Act" when elected. Section 4 of the act calls to "levy a 100 percent of price sales cost tax for the sale on ... any video game containing any form of human violence." "I take the position that the Founding Fathers took: that the power to tax is the power to destroy," Locke told the Amarillo Globe News. "So our concept is that we need to tax things we don't want and you want to not tax things that you want to encourage." However, in the unlikely event he is sent to the governor's mansion, Locke would create a 10-member board that would label games as violent. According to the Globe, the tax itself would be levied against the publishers of said games--and quickly. "Once it's reviewed, the tax would be levied swiftly," he said. [UPDATE] Locke's other platform promises call for the repeal of all alcoholic beverage laws and a 50 percent "grease tax" on "all food prepared by deep-frying or cooking in any form of oil or grease for human consumption."
What a moron. He must be trying to not get elected. If for some reason this douche does get elected, I'll move to another state. Seriously, I will. He can take his Family Security and Protection Act and violently shove it up his ass. I do not need him to secure or protect my family.
That's ridiculous. I'm all for carding people when buying violent games, but doubling the price through tax? Game prices are already more than I want to pay.
Why stop there? - I want a 100% tax on all movies with graphic violence (in the theater, for rental, and on PPV). - I want consumers to be forced to pay extra for any cable channels engaging in the acceleration of moral decay in society with programs depicting graphic violence. Said programs include any war documentaries and CSI-like shows. - I want football and boxing banned due to the horrid nature of the sports. - I want all gangsta rappers thrown in jail for corrupting youth. - I want the word "violence" stricken from all dictionaries. I won't stop until we live in a utopian society where Taco Bell is the best restaurant in town.
I personally think video games are a waste of time and are contributing to obese kids. A sin tax probably is just as justified as one for cigarettes.
LOL. I'm glad someone got the reference. And bigtexxx, they have a game for obese kids. It looks like this:
Dont forget escorts. Thats big money and completely untaxed. Lets build a red light district, regulate the whole thing, and let the tax dollars pour in.
I think his proposed tax would not affect Resident Evil 4 which is human-on-zombie violence, not human-on-human. I think his basic operating principle -- to tax the things you want to discourage -- is fine, though I don't feel any strong need to discourage violent video games. Btw, did no one notice he wanted to repeal the alcohol laws of the last half-century?
