Wisconsin Adds A 5% Sales Tax To Digital Downloads
Yet another law has been passed that will have a detrimental effect on gamers. Gov. Jim Doyle has approved a bill that will see a tax of 5% applied to all digital downloads in the state of Wisconsin. This includes music, video games, greeting cards, artwork, periodicals and ringtone downloads.
This to me just seems like a silly idea, how in the hell are they going to audit someone’s downloads to determine what to tax? State representative Scott Suder said:
It’s basically taxing students to fill in the Doyle budget shortfall, and I think that’s unfair.
Digital downloads are a new method of purchase compared to brick and mortar stores and the younger generation are more than comfortable spending their money online. So it would make sense that students are the ones spending their cash via digital distribution platforms. Why introduce legislation that hits those who are generally strapped for cash as it is? To be honest I can see this easily being another one of those useless laws passed that have almost no effect in the real world. Apparently the digital products sales tax is expected to raise about $10.9 million for the state between 2009 and 2011. Here’s hoping that this just gets buried and nothing is ever really done about it.
Via: GamePolitics
Fucking great, you can bet there will be a flood of these tax laws coming from other states here in the U.S. As cash strapped as my home state of California is, I’ll bet they try it soon.
So you have a key for the red and black states…what about the 49 states that are white?
Transparent cash grab. I guess they can sneak this by the general populace because so few people understand, or care about, digital downloads.
Boooooooo :(
Jim Doyle is the biggest fucking idiot in Wisconsin history. Not only has he sold out employment in Wisconsin by blowing out jobs to other states (and Nations) while making a huge profit in the process, he’s happily ignored the cries for relief from residents by pushing his gigantic ‘crusade against big tobacco’ that NOBODY wants. Now this. Wonder why he’s not seeking re-election? Because NO ONE will vote for him. Thanks Jim Doyle for turning Wisconsin into a huge shithole of unemployment and unhappiness.