Rhode Island Lawmaker Introduces Tax Increase on Video Games Depicting Violence
A lawmaker from Rhode Island, United States has suggested to pass a bill that aims to raise the taxes for video games that depict violence.
As presented in a press release, Rhode Island representative Robert Nardolillo introduced the legislation of increasing the tax of video games that have been given an M rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which will be appropriated for mental health and counseling resources.
The reason behind the extra taxation is due to a statement that suggests that children who are more exposed to violent video games show signs of heightened aggression compared to those who are not. It is important to note that the press release failed to mention if these statements came from factual data or any specific academic study.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Furthermore, the legislation is a form of compromise since no state has the power to "ban the sales" of these types of video games. The suggested tax increase is currently pegged at 10 percent, which will go to an account that will distribute the funds to schools and mental health programs that may eventually assist students to deal with their anger and resolving different types of conflict in a much healthier way.
The aim is to reduce innate aggression in children to ensure safer campuses. The news follows multiple occurrences of school shootings, similar to the most recent Valentine's Day Florida massacre that took the lives of 17 students and faculty.
If the law were to be passed, video games, which usually cost around $60, will instead cost $70 if sales tax is accounted for in the overall price hike. The $10 increase in price is definitely not a small one, especially for a student.
This is not the first time that a proposition like this is made. Back in 2013, after the shooting that took place in Sandy Hook, one of Connecticut's lawmakers suggested a similar legislation as Nardolillo's. The direct correlation between video game violence and children's raised aggression has been quite a heated topic for some time now, and it appears that it is once again an issue today.
