Game retailers open front against New Mexico tax bill

Video game retailers aren’t too happy with the proposed New Mexico tax law that will levy a 1% surcharge on the sale of video games and TV sets in the state. They have shared their displeasure with Sierra Club, the social organization that has purported the law. According to Sierra Club, the funds will be in turn used to “to fight obesity and poor school performance which may result from excessive… video game exposure.” But in a letter sent by the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), a representative body of game retailers, its vice president Sean Bersell countered the very logic behind the tax proposal.

Bersell has conveyed to the Sierra Club that the proposal is based on “suspect assumptions.” He wrote in the letter that problems like child obesity and poor academic performance have various causes. He even challenged the constitutional viability of the proposal, as it might put the New Mexico game retailers at a disadvantage. He seemed to have an attorney by his side while penning the letter, as he cited the First Amendment, which protects “expressive products” like video games.

Lawmakers and activists alike seem to be setting the bar of absurdity higher by the day. Now they are openly blaming video games for most of the problems children face, without even bothering to underpin their case with any logical, scientific reasoning. They should probably target junk food which logically accounts for the extra pounds that today’s children tow around. It is not fair to blame the academic miseries of today’s children on video games as there are other factors, besides video games also serve as a potent educational tool. I hope they don’t levy a tax on video game writers also – and 1% penalty for dissent.

Read [Game Politics] Site [EMA]